


bones in the box

by Forallyourikemensengokuneeds



Category: Bones (TV), イケメン戦国 時をかける恋 | Ikemen Sengoku: Toki o Kakeru Koi (Visual Novel)
Genre: Bones in the box, F/M, Fantasy, Ghosts, Inspired By, Love, Mystery, haunted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-10-03 18:05:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forallyourikemensengokuneeds/pseuds/Forallyourikemensengokuneeds





	1. Chapter 1

She sat alone in the musty basement room. She hated the basement so it only seemed fitting that her office would be placed there. Everything about her job was like this, but she still tried to make the most of the opportunity. Her godfather was a considerable donor to the museum most that worked with her thought that was the young doctor got the job in the first place. At twenty-five, she was one of the up and coming newest members of the field but that of course was overlooked as people thought that her “uncles” money had bought her way in.   
Her uncle had offered to help put a word in for her, but she had refused. She only wanted people to know her for her work, not her association to one of the wealthiest men in the state or even the country for that matter. She had rested on her knowledge instead of that but somehow after a charity dinner to which she was a guest of his her association was leaked out. She was now labeled as one of those rich kids instead of one those hard-working kids. It wasn’t a new feeling for her, every time someone found out she was looked at differently then what she really was.  
She looked around the almost open office that was lacking any personal touches and smiled. She was happiest with the lights blaring and the sounds of soft music playing in the background. This was hers. She looked around and thought it would be almost perfect if it weren’t in the museum’s basement of course. She still smiled every day as she scanned her ID card and made her way to the dusty storage rooms of exhibits gone by to the hallway that leads to the offices.   
The further she walked down the hallway the more she actually felt the history, and the mustiness of the corridors would become overwhelming. It was only on late nights that she would think the whole building was haunted by some known spirit that stalked around the building. She had always believed there was more than what we could see, but this job led her to try to be reasonable. She was a doctor after all. She was a doctor that was labeled rich and had an overactive imagination.   
She was working late again. She had no idea why she was voluntold that she had to stay for the delivery of the incoming packages. The museum had created a massive buzz for this new coming exhibit by winning the contract with the Japanese government to do the genealogical studies and dating of some of their more notable historical people. She knew her uncle had been a driving factor in the museum getting the contract. She also knew the reason he had used his influence was her. It was something she wanted to work on, and it was a gift to her.  
When the loud buzzer went off, she made her way to the loading dock to where she lifted the gates to a smiling delivery man. “I have some crates for you.”, he smiled.  
“Thank you.”, she smiled back. “Just place them over there while I check them off the manifest, please.”  
“You got it, Princess.”, He smiled and went into the truck. He started to load up the dolly and bring out crate after crate. She was checking them off the list that she had when she saw there were two more crates then what was supposed to be there. She looked up and asked him.  
“Those aren’t on the manifest.”, she said, “Are they for the exhibit?”  
“I just deliver what I am told.”, The man said with a grin.  
“I need to call before I can sign for those two.”, She said not really knowing what to do. It was more often than not part of a shipment was missing not that there were more then what was supposed to be sent.  
“I will keep stacking Princess.”, The man said as she walked over to the phone in the loading bay. She picked up and started to make the call.  
“Hello, this is Doctor Jankowski from the Berkinshire Institute Museum. I have two extra crates from what was in the manifest.”, She said.  
“Ah yes, Just the person we were hoping would receive them. Dr. Jankowski those are for you, a gift from a benefactor that believes in your talents.”, the voice on the phone who identified himself as the curator from the original museum.  
“A benefactor?”, She asked. She knew it had to be her uncle. “Gifts?”  
“I am to pass this on. You will know what to do with them when they feel comfortable with you.”, they said as they hung up.  
“Well, what the hell does that mean?”, she asked herself out loud.  
“So princess, You want these two or not?”, the delivery man asked.  
“Yes, I’m sorry about that. It seems they are a gift.”, she replied.  
“A gift huh?”, the delivery man asked. “Seems a little weird to send a gift like this.”  
“Tell me about it.”, she replied to which he laughed.   
“You want them with the rest?”, he asked.  
“Actually, can you bring them to my office? It is only down the hall. I don’t want to get them confused with the others.”, she said.  
“For you, princess anything.”, He said with a wink as he followed her to the office as she held the doors open for him. He looked around in the large room and smiled. “You haven’t done much with the place have you?”  
“No, I just moved into it a few weeks ago when I got my fellowship.”, She replied as he put the crates down and moved the dolly from underneath them. She smiled at him as he hesitated.  
“Doctor huh?”, he asked. “You look way to young to be a doctor.”  
“Thank you.”, she replied, “But I am a Ph.D., not a medical doctor.”  
“So a book smart doctor then?”, he asked which she was laughing.  
“I guess so. Sometimes I wonder though.”, she said as she walked him back to the loading bay.   
“Well book smart doctor it is Friday night, and it is still somewhat early. Would you like to go get a drink with me?”, he asked.  
“Thank you for the offer but.”, she started, and he held up his hand.  
“I know. You’re married.”, he said.  
“Actually I’m not, but I do have to begin to sort these. I would rather get the drink.”, she said with a smile.  
“Maybe next time then, princess.”, he said with a smile.   
“Next time.”, She said. He got into the truck, and she pressed the button for the liftgate to come down, and as he drove off, she wished she had given him her card. She shook her head looking at the room full of crates as she started to go over the manifest again. The first step she had to do was label each box with more than the number from the list. Different departments would be taking possession of different boxes. It was her job at this point to make sure the correct box went to each department. Then she might be able to get to her own few crates. She went to find a marker so she could get this over with. Though it was not a difficult task, it was one that an undergrad could have done instead of her. She knew this was payback for her having specific connections.   
She almost cursed the day she went full speed skipping into her father’s office and directly into the owner of the new company. She had been eight at the time, and it was love at first sight. Her new adopted “uncle” took great joy in spoiling her that day and every day since. She smiled at the memory of the day as she started to label the boxes. It was a penance for her that she would gratefully bare if it meant Lou was in her life.  
Two hours later she was done. The boxes had all been labeled and ready for the different departments. She smiled at the crates and knew her job was almost done. She still had two more crates to go, and she looked at her watch. She didn’t need to work anymore, but those two crates in her office would drive her insane for the next few hours if she didn’t know what was in them and what her gift was. She walked to the office and looked at the boxes. They were rather small for crates, but they still were big enough for her to wonder what in the world could be in them. Thinking that this was her uncles doing again, she decided that it might be best to x-ray them before she opened them and she had the portable x-ray machine in the office next door that she could use. The one benefit to being locked away in the basement, she had access to all the fun toys around her without having to ask for another department’s approval. She had the right to all machines as well, and easier access to them. As she preferred to work by herself, she knew how to use everything as well which was a boon.   
She went over to the office next to her and moved the bulky machine to her own as the lights flickered slightly, she wondered at those the first night she had been moved in here. The electrical system could use a few upgrades down here she had thought though the lights in the exhibit hall where the top of the line the rest of the building was going to hell in a handbasket. She wondered at first at the flickers, but it seemed that it was a normal thing for the building. A simple small power surge or a quick brown out she had begun to think. Her father, a technician for the phone company, had made sure that all of his children had learned about the simple things in life, the basic things they would all need. She had been running wire for the house they had built and within the phone company by the time she was five. She knew all about wiring and different aspects of electricity. She ultimately thought about telling Lou when she saw him next just so he could have the building checked out, the idea there was a faulty wire and could cause a fire would be a horrible idea to hold on too. She had set up the machine to do its job as she snapped the first picture and went into to move and set up for the next. She only wanted an idea of what was in the crates, so a detailed x-ray wasn’t necessary. As she cleared the room again and snapped the next, it seemed the air in the basement dropped about five degrees around her. She wondered about a draft, but there was no access point that could create one. She let that thought drop as she really didn’t want to start thinking about the other possibilities.  
As she waited for the x-rays to develop she readied the supplies that she would need to pry open the crates to find what was inside. She looked over at the table and was surprised as she moved closer. She could start to make out the outlines of the objects in the crate. She was very puzzled as she moved even closer and as the image grew and she could clearly see what was in the box. This wasn’t an ordinary present. Even her uncle could not have arraigned this.  
“Who in the world sent me a box of bones?”, She asked herself as she turned and looked again at the crate. She moved closer to the crate and gently pried open the top of the first box. She reached in and picked up a skull and asked, “Who are you?”


	2. Chapter 2

She sat looking at the skull in her hands and had no clue who or why someone would send these to her. She did, however, want to find the mystery of who they were. She thought to herself that was probably the reason they were sent but as a gift, that she didn’t understand. She looked at the clock, and it was nearing midnight. Another flicker of the lights and she smiled to herself. She went to the next room and brought in another piece of machinery. She hooked it up to her private computer and began the scans as she glanced over the skull as the lasers started the process of making her a digital model of it. She would use that to rebuild the face later.   
She could already see he was an East Asian descent. The bones themselves were not really that old. Only a few centuries. She would do testing on them later to narrow that down as well. She was to busy making mental notes of all the things she wanted to do but knew that her time would be limited with this set of remains as the exhibit would, of course, take precedence over all else. She picked up the receiver and cradled it against her neck and ear as she made the call out.  
“Hey, it’s me.”, she said as soon as the phone was answered.  
“I thought you would be calling soon.”, Lou answered.  
“Really so you did have something to do with it.’, she said.  
“With what?”, he replied back.  
“With the present with the delivery.”, she replied.  
“What?”, he asked. “Sweetheart, what are you talking about?”  
“You didn’t have a present sent to me of two crates?”, she asked.  
“No getting that exhibit to go through much against the directors and the board advisors was the present I gave you.”, Lou replied. “I did have to threaten to get it for you because I knew if you got it they couldn’t deny your talent anymore.”  
“I don’t care about that, Lou.”, she replied.  
“What is this about two crates though?”, he asked.  
“I got two extra crates with the delivery. When I called to check about them the person who answered said they were a gift for me, specifically. They have two sets of remains in them.”, she replied.  
“I had nothing to do with that. I just sent both places a check to get them for you. Sorry kid looks like you have a mystery on your hands. Who would send you two boxes of bones though.”, Lou asked.  
“I thought you. I don’t know who else. They look like they should be from the exhibit though. There is no backstory or anything else relating to them. Just the bones. The person said when I talked to them the bones would let me know something when they felt comfortable with me. Have you been going on about me talking to bones like you did with the cats?”, she asked.  
“No.,” he said as he laughed.  
“Lou someone took a lot of trouble to pack these up and send them to me, specifically me. I am not the worlds best anthropologist. I am barely known. So why me? It has to be something from you.”, she said.  
“It’s not. I have kept my distance when it comes to you. I know it has affected you being associated with me. I try not to bring it up.”, Lou stated.  
“Yeah, it hasn’t been easy being your niece.”, she said with a smile. “Parties, millions at my disposal, and of course the attention.”  
“Sounds horrible.”, Lou laughed.  
“It is. Absolutely.”, she laughed. “Lou I wouldn’t change a thing, regardless of it all being an annoyance.”, she said softly.  
“I know sweetheart. Plus when I die you get it all.”, he replied.  
“What?”, she asked.   
“I told you about this before.”, he replied.  
“No, No you didn’t.”, she said.  
“Yes, Yes I did. We both know I am not fit to be a father so I will not have any children of my own. I have no siblings, thank god. You are the closest thing to family I have got. Plus I did help raise you to a point. The only female to stir my heart. So it all goes to you.”, Lou said. “however we will talk of this later. I just arrived.”  
“Arrived?”, she asked.  
“party, my dear. A party.”, Lou said. “Someone between the two of us has to live.”  
“I do.”, she replied.  
“Not nearly enough.”, Lou said as he hung up the phone. As she looked at the phone and softly smiled to herself, that is the man I call my uncle she thought. He was always like that. A gentle hand to help guide her but only on his own terms. She had skipped into his life, and that was that. He had claimed her that day as she was refreshing and innocent. It was that simple for him, and he had made promises just like all the other adults in her life, but only he mostly came through. She was still waiting for the castle he had promised to buy her when she was ten.   
She looked back at the skull and still wondered who would send them to her. She didn’t have any idea and with the cryptical message that was given as well. She wished she had asked a name of the person she had talked to, but hindsight was always twenty-twenty. She shook her head again as the machines buzzed away. She should do a quick exam but decided that sleep would be better. She had to wait for the laser scanner to finish before she could leave. Otherwise, she didn’t know who would take it in the morning and what they would do with her skull. She couldn’t risk that.  
Finally, after an hour, the scan was complete. She had the 3-d model on her computer, and in the later morning, she would run the software she would need to build his face. She gently picked his skull up and carried it back to the crates. “Sorry I know I just took you out but until I know who you are I have to put you back in there for safe keeping.”, She said absentmindedly to the skull. As if by response another gust of cool air seemed to swirl around her effortlessly. “I need to call maintenance about that wind.”   
She placed the skull down and closed the lid. She got her things and started out the door. She closed and locked her office after she placed back all the equipment she had used during the night. She smiled to herself as she looked toward the crates once again. She did need a good mystery every once in a while to keep her on her toes. This was going to be the one of a lifetime. She really didn’t feel all that bad when she left. Something ironically felt more right about the mystery boxes now in her care. She didn’t know their origin, but she was sure they were supposed to be there with her. She had always felt things like that with certain items.   
Her mother on one of the rare times she had spoken kindly to her had called her touched. She at the time thought it was yet another insult which her mother had been fond of throwing at the youngest of her children. Touched in her mother's mind was gifted with the other side. She always thought her mother’s new age beliefs cupped with her staunch Catholic beliefs were a little strange, to say the least, but as she got older one of those things made more sense to her than the other. She was touched, she could see things others couldn’t. It was one of the reasons she was called to work in this field. So she could identify the dead to put them to rest. Was this what had happened in this case? Had they found these remains and couldn’t place them? Why as a gift though? It kept coming back to who would send her a gift like this? She had more questions than answers as she drove home. Her small house on the outskirts of town was perfect for just her. She always had stayed to herself. She didn’t mind all that much though she did seem to spend more and more time alone as she got older. She wished now she really had skipped all of this and had a few drinks with the delivery driver. She had seen him before, and she silently hoped she would see him again.   
She could read the dead effortlessly but the living, that was a completely different story. The day she met Lou everything in her life changed. She had skipped right into him and his unusual life. It was like fate had intertwined the two from the beginning. Lou a young twenty-five-year-old business mogul who was known for his unconventional ways in business was no different when it came to his personal life. He had looked down at the girl with his dark almost black eyes and asked, “Don’t good little girls have to be in school?”  
Her reply, “probably that is why I am not there.” Is what caught his attention and he roared with laughter. He was not known for his kindness, and her father was glaring at her and apologizing to his new somewhat eccentric boss. Lou had waved all of that off.  
“Stan, you have to let me take this honest little creature out to lunch.”, Lou said with a smile.  
“You want to take her out to lunch?”, her father had replied.  
“Yes. I so very rarely meet such an honest child. I would like to reward her.”, Lou said with a small wink in her direction.  
“I… I.. guess so. Let me clear my desk first.”, her father sputtered out.  
“No, I think you misunderstand. Her, not you.”, Lou said.  
“I guess that would be fine.”, her father said as he turned to her, “Please behave.”  
“I will dad.”, she said with a smile and Lou reached out his hand to her as soon as the pair left the office space on the fourth floor.  
“I honestly hope you won’t, sweetheart.”, Lou said with another smile.  
“I won’t what, sir?”, she said.  
“Behave.”, Lou said with a wink. That was the beginning of the most unusual friendship between the two. He had lavished a five-star meal on her to which she replied when asked it really wasn’t all that good, and she was still hungry he laughed and then walked around the capital mall with her as her eyes went bright in a bookstore but not the toy store he was in awe. He thought all children would like the newest fancy toys but not this one. This one wanted books and computer models. Every book she picked up was noted, and he would surprise the young girl with them all later. When he offered to get her something she smiled but refused. He was in awe of the tiny beauty next to him. She could have anything she desired, but she turned the smile on him and would only say no thank you. He returned her a few hours later to her father, and he knew she was going to be in his future.

The next day a truck showed up at their house and began to unload things in boxes. When her mother had gone out, she was even more displeased when she had found out everything in the truck was for her youngest daughter. Her look-alike daughter. The only one of her daughters that didn’t care about makeup or jewelry. She cared about books. Now hundreds of them were being delivered to the house. Her mother had cornered her when she did get home from school and confronted her about her father’s boss.  
“You let him do something!”, her mother had screamed.  
“No Mom.”, she said. “He offered to buy them for me, I told him no thank you.”  
“Don’t lie!”, her mother roared.  
“I’m not.”, she said softly.  
“He did something to you now tell me what!”, her mother screamed again at her.  
“I am telling you, mom.”, she said.  
“Liar. I knew you would be a whore as well.”, Her mother screamed. The eight-year-old girl looked at her mother with widened eyes. She knew what that word meant though she didn’t understand why her mother would say that about her.   
“Mom, that’s enough.”, Danny her oldest brother said and her mother’s favorite child.  
“Dan Can’t wait you see. She has the mark of the devil in her.”, her mother pleaded.  
“Mom. That is really enough. She didn’t do anything. Dad’s boss told him she refused every time he offered to buy her something. Did you not hear him last night when he spoke?”, Dan asked.  
“But all these gifts?”, her mother asked of her brother, “She had to do something to get these.”  
“Mom, dad’s boss was probably being generous for her not asking for something.”, Dan said. “You are scaring her now. I suggest you stop.”  
“Yes, fine go.”, She said looking at the girl who ran from the room almost in tears. She decided that day she would never cry in front of her mother again. She also knew that a gift that should be heaven could easily be a gift from hell. She sat in her room and wanted nothing more to not be here in this house anymore. That was the day she knew she would leave and never look back as soon as she could.

She arrived at her house sometime while reliving that memory as she moved silently throughout the small building she smiled to herself. Nothing in her life had been good until Lou showed up. As much as she changed him for the better, he had also changed her. She wanted more out of life, and he was the person to supply it. As she changed clothes and climbed into her cozy futon bed and drifted to sleep she thought of the happier times, they all contained him somehow.


	3. Chapter 3

When she awoke from her troubled slumber. The stillness filled her small house. It was Saturday. She didn’t have to go in to the museum today thought with the new delivery it was almost expected of her. This was her project though all she had done was suggest that it could, if done right, bring in new interest to the once shining institution. The museum had been living off the hay day of a decade or more. It wasn’t the same as it once had been. Though she couldn’t quite understand why.   
It had the research teams and the school’s department of fellows to help at anytime though it seemed they stopped trying to improve. They had only bid on low interest lying exhibits for at least the entire decade prior. It had once been the premier museum on the north east region now it was used as a joke to most in the field. She had thought they were going back to the forefront when they had hired her but it was for the pr and to make things legit. She was going to be a pawn. It was until much later when the committee that had picked her of the small number of applicants that she knew something was up. It was also around the same time her connection with Lou was found out.  
The staff shifted their perceptions of her rather quickly and she had then been hidden in the basement. She had voiced her opinion on a few issues and then she was told that she didn’t really have a voice here. When she had told Lou of her move to the basement he was enraged. Having watch her fight for everything she had though she had wealth and prestige at her fingertips she had always shunned his offers, it was disheartening to him that she, his adopted god daughter, had to go through this. she had grown up with access to everything her heart could have desired but she instead worked for everything and now she was shunned because of it.  
It was his nightmare. She however was living it. he had thought this exhibit would make up for things. He was shocked slightly when he had suggested at a donors meeting that he would bid on it for the museum and they told him they would have to think on it. the other donors all saw the look of fear in the museums staff. Something was wrong. Though no one would voice the opinion freely besides Lou, who had asked if they really didn’t like the possibility of having the museum become famous again. Everyone laughed off the idea but the fear never left their eyes. The donors saw it. Lou saw it.   
Lou didn’t back down though like they had hoped. He was like a Pitbull with bone when his haggles were up. He was relentless that whatever they feared had no choice to take a back burn to him. He was worse because he would be in their faces all the time. His caustic comments had hit home though and enough people really started to look at the museum itself and start to wonder if something else was going on and or if their money would be used better in another museum instead. It was the thought of the donors leaving that finally wore them down.  
Lou bid on the exhibit himself under the museums name. it was signed sealed and now delivered to the museum. She was already driving over to go through and make sure that everyone had got their correct boxes. She was placed in charge of the entire exhibit though that was more of a management decision. Each department would go through and learn and test as much before the two weeks before the exhibit would be opened in the main hall. They had six weeks before all of that took place. She smiled as she walked in to the building and through the halls to the restricted area and then down to her office in the basement. It was still locked and the lights were off as she went to the room. She smiled wondering why she expected something different.   
When she walked in there was an overwhelming sense of calm in the room. It was like the energy from the night prior was gone. She thought that was odd in a sense that she had really felt worked up and even nervous to a point on the two crates. She now felt calm and collected. It was amazing what a good nights sleep could do, she thought again as she placed her things down and then went to close the door. The slight breeze at her ankles got her attention again. It wasn’t cold as the air should have felt but warm and inviting. She looked around for a moment and then turned and shut her door again and went to the loading doc to make sure it was not in chaos.  
It was in chaos. She really should have known better to think anything else. All the department heads were in a conflict of what to do next. She was looking at them and really started to wonder what was this was about. It had been the first major undertaking for years and it seemed though that everyone had forgot how to do their jobs. She plastered her smile on and went into the bay and started suggesting what they do. Mainly to clear the loading docks and bring their new work to their own workspaces. They could look at the list of tests they were supposed to do in authenticating the works and also the what the could do lists that were with each crate.   
Her coworkers were in shock that she had dared tell them what to do. When she was nearly in tears after one such PHD had voiced his opinion of her and her ways she had noticed the air around them had grown freezing cold. At first she thought it was her own emotions that had made her feel that way but she glanced around and the people close to them also were shivering. The crates next to them which had been stacked two high for easy transport were sound the night before. However when she glanced it looked like one was about ready to tip. She went over in the middle of the putdowns and shoved it back to center. It was much more difficult than she had expected though an unknown force was pushing on the other side.  
“Careful with those. You can’t leave it like that.”, she had turned around and said.  
“We didn’t touch those, Doctor.”, the professor had spat out, “I have done my job since before you were born. I know how to do it.”  
“Then do it.”, she replied. “Someone moved that and it was about ready to fall.”  
“The only person to touch those was you.”, he ground out.  
“Okay this is getting us no where. The loading bay needs to be cleared out by tomorrow. Take your crates to your labs and start working on them. It is simple as that.”, she said as she sighed.  
“I have other projects to work on.”, h replied. “These will just take up space.”  
“I don’t care.”, she said. “The museum work takes precedence over our personal work.”  
She knew what he was working on though she didn’t agree with the practice it was something to look forward to the reports on it. She wondered if they realized that their own projects and the lack of work done in the museum itself was one of the main issues. The museum itself funded many of the staffs pet projects in the hopes that one would strike it big with a new discovery before another research facility did. The museum was dwindling in funds though because they had neglected the actual museum half of the equation. They had not had a good exhibit in years. One that could bring in people which in turn meant more money for the doctors on staff. No one else seemed to see that. she shook her head and wondered if it was to late to find another job.  
She hated coming to work. Even now with this new exhibit it was a kin to hell. She turned on her heel and started off back in the direction of her office. When a crash came out of nowhere. She turned to see the box she had just pushed to dead center had toppled over and was on the man who had insulted her as she turned. She had tried to ignore the rich bitch comments and often just went deaf as they were spoken but this man as she had walked away had said much more under his breath. She looked at him as he struggled to breathe under the weighted contents of the crate and the people flocked around him to lift it off. She got the impression though the pain was coming in waves and the box seeming looked like it was moving up and down. Almost as if someone was jumping on the crate itself. She said quietly, ”that is enough.”  
The box stopped moving and they lifted the crate off him easy. That had to be a trick of her eyes. She shook her head and tried to clear the thoughts but they all came back to something had been on that crate. She had pushed it back to dead center. It moved seemingly on it’s own. When she had said stop it stopped. This couldn’t be happening. It could not be. She had heard of things like this. she knew the risks when she took this job that someone who was “Touched” as her mother called it could bring out things long buried in objects. The new exhibit was haunted.   
That thought sat with her as she went over the paperwork of the exhibits long history. She was going to try to figure out who or what was attached to the items here. She knew she was in for a long battle and it would have to be completely by herself as it wasn’t like she could say it was haunted. Though she wasn’t scared per se she was slightly apprehensive. She knew this could go either way as the museum itself was full of nonbelievers. She was more curious than nervous and she still had more work to do with the skull and the bones that were sent to her.   
She had almost forgot about them though they were glaring at her from inside their straw beds. She thought that was apt in a way. She more so wondered if the bones were the one thing that was doing this. she knew she would sound crazy, even to Lou if she said to much of anything. How could a doctor with a few degrees in science really believe in ghosts. It would all come back to her age and then she would have an uphill battle again. This time she would do this as her own experiment.  
She calculated her plan. It was simple enough. She would observe everything and everyone and write it all down. She looked at the skull that for some reason had seemed to call to her and she had placed it on her desk. She was looking into where it’s eyes once were. She took out a small notepad that was in her desk and started writing down everything that had happened in the past day. She glanced up into the skulls obitual holes and smiled.  
“I really need you and your friends to behave.”, she said. “people already have it out for my blood and though I appreciate what you guys did out there, that can not happen again.”  
She felt the air in her office change again. It wasn’t something that could be measured by any instruments it was a feeling she knew well though. She smiled and looked at the skull. Somehow this object made her feel better. Maybe she had lost her mind. Maybe she had imagined the whole thing. Or maybe just maybe she had made a new friend.


	4. Chapter 4

As the day progressed, she noticed a few other things that were slightly odd. She had started the software to rebuild the skull's appearance only to have the program shut down twice. She had never had the issue of that happening before. She looked at the skull on her desk again and started up the program again.  
“I have to do this you know.”, she said to the skull. “That way I can figure out you who are.”  
It seemed after that the program worked, but she was still unsure if it was working correctly. It wasn’t showing what she could clearly see. The face that was rebuild was not as she expected. She loaded the software again and waited as she went over the list of tests again. She was sitting in her office when the light flickered again. She looked up and really wondered at the lights and electrical system. She knew it wasn’t in her purview, but she was going to get up and go look at the breakers at least.   
The door that she had propped open to get some air flowing in her office which could become stale throughout the day shut. She glanced at the door. Then she peered down at the skull again.  
“I was just going to check on the lights.”, She said. It was like the air changed, and she could feel it. There was tension now. As if a lightning strike was nearby. She knew the area was clear for weather, but it was still growing there in the office. It was so charged that she was spooked when the door flew open. She let out a little yelp. She looked up and saw the director of the museum standing there.  
“Geez, you scared me.”,she said.  
“Wasn’t expecting you to still be here working.”,he said sternly.  
“Why? I have the exhibit to prepare.”,she said.  
“I honestly didn’t think you would be working on that now.”, he stated.  
“Why wouldn’t I?” She asked.” It is my job.”  
“ we all figured you would wait till the last minute and throw something together.”, He replied caustically. She naturally flinched.   
“Not my style.”,she replied.  
“Who knows what your style is? The only thing we really know about you is the fact you have Lou Gambits money to throw around.”, he said.  
“That isn’t exactly true.”, she said. “ Lou is my godfather, yes. However, you picked me for my knowledge not because I was his niece.”  
“We picked you because we thought you would be a good fit here. Obviously, we were not all on the same page.”, He said. Each word was a blow. Every word lead the air to get more and more chilled.  
“So what are you firing me for doing my job? I am trying to help the museum.”,she said.  
“What exactly happened in the load bay earlier?”, he asked.  
“Trumbull was next to a box arguing with me over having to clear the bays. The box was tilted and off center.”,she stated. “I place the crate back to center to keep it from tipping over. I turned to leave, and a minute later the crate fell on him. It should all be on the video.”  
“You didn’t purposely push the crate so it would fall?”,he asked.  
“Why would I do that?”,she asked back. “No, I pushed it back to center. I wasn’t even standing near the crate or him when it fell.”  
“Oh.”,he replied.   
“It is clear on the video surveillance cameras.”, she said.  
I didn’t check those yet.”,he stated.  
“So instead you took Trumbull word as gospel. I didn’t say anything when you moved me down here, I didn’t say anything when someone on the executive staff told everyone I was related to a billionaire, but I will say something about this. Trumbull and everyone else here is acting like an actual exhibit is a problem. We are a museum first and a research facility second. Did everyone here forget that?”,she asked.  
“You are out of line!”, he said in a huff.  
“Am I?”,she asked.  
“Yes, young lady you are.”, He stated. Then he smiled at her, and she felt completely creeped out by it. “We may have to re-evaluate your position here.”  
“Then reevaluate it.”,she said.  
“You are quite sure of yourself.”,he stated.  
“You do realize, of course, that if I go because your re-evaluation is unfair that you will lose donors?”,she said.  
“One donor possibly.”, he satiated as he nodded.  
“Most of your donors.”, she said with a smile.” Lou has a way of getting people to follow him. If he leaves, I will bet you will lose half or more. Then, of course, the lawsuit I will bring for wrongful termination of accusing me of not doing my job which I seem to be the only one here who actually does both sides of my job. Do you think Lou’s money could buy me the best lawyers who could tie you up in legal fees for years?”, she stated.  
“You’re going to blackmail me, little girl?”, He asked as he stepped closer to loom over her. She felt the sweep of wind next to her and the hair stand up on the back of her neck.  
“I don’t threaten anything. I am merely saying things.”, She said as she stood her ground. Verbally she could spare with the best of them. She was taught well with the inflicting torment of her mother over the years. “It is really your choice.”  
“We will still re-evaluate your position.”, He stated. She tilted her head and inclined it.   
“So be it.”, She said. She then turned her back and let out the little sigh she had been holding. She didn’t see the door slam back on the man she had just gone at it with. She didn’t see what made him scream as he ran out of the room. She looked at the skull again.  
“What did you do?”, She asked the air. She began packing up her things. She knew it was only a matter of time before she did receive a pink slip. She looked at the crates and wondered if she should pack them up too. “I guess I will take you guys home as well.”  
She waited till she knew the staff was gone. She had taken her time packing up her office. She didn’t have many personal items in the office, to begin with. She moved everything thing to the loading bays when a truck pulled up.  
“Heya Princess!”, A familiar voice said. She looked up and saw the delivery driver from the night before. She smiled.  
“Hi!”, she said welcoming the distraction from going to her car. “Another delivery?”  
“Yeah, but what are you doing?”, he asked looking over the five crates she had on the platform.  
“Leaving.”,she said.  
“Leaving as in quitting?”, he asked.  
“Leaving as in preparing to be let go.”,she said with a smile.  
“Oh. I thought you were one of those fancy doctors that deal with this museum stuff.”,he said.  
“I am.”, she laughed. “ Apparently though I am the only one who wants to do their job and I guess around here that is a bad thing.”  
“Really?”, He asked as he laughed. The sound was warm and pleasant. “Well, I guess this won’t be my favorite stop then.”  
“It was your favorite stop?”,she asked.  
“Yeah, kind of. There is this pretty little Doctor that works here. She always turned me down, but I was hopeful. That one day I would wear her down.”, He said with a wink. He went into the truck and got the two smaller boxes and put them through the slot as he looked at her. “That was my last delivery for the night. Need some help moving those?”  
“Wouldn’t that be like more work for you?”, she asked.  
“You can pay me back though, sweetheart.”,he said.  
“And how exactly would I do this?”, she asked with a smile.  
“Let me buy you a Drink?”,he suggested, and she smiled even more.  
“So let me get this straight you want me to pay you back by letting you buy me a drink?”, she asked.  
“I think that is the best payment you could possibly give me.”,he said.  
“Then deal. I think I need a drink after today.”, She said with a smile. She looked at his smile as it grew. Something about him was so familiar but still just out of reach. She went to get her car, and he laughed when she drove up.  
“Princess, there is no way you can load up that thing with this stuff.”, he said as she looked at her car and then the crates.  
“Damnit.”, she said.  
“It’s okay. I can load them up in here and then put them in my truck at the depot.”, he suggested.  
“You would do that?”, she asked.  
“Yeah, but the price went up.”, he said with a smile.  
“To what exactly?”,she asked with a laugh.  
“Two drinks and a dance.”, he said.  
“Still a rather good payment.”,she said.  
“I really like your style, Princess.”, He said. He loaded up the truck and jumped in the driver's seat. “Follow me.”  
She felt the wave of the air as she got in her car. She went to start it and when she did the truck started too. She was never impulsive. She felt better about everything today already. She had hoped she would see him again. A flash of something passed over her body like a memory but something more than that as well. She wondered if it was because of the bones or because of him. She really should get his name. 

She pulled up behind him with enough room for him to move the crates to his pickup like he said he would. The crates weren’t that heavy, so it was easy work for him. She watched as he worked, she admired his strength and of course his body as well. “Hold tight here Princess. I will be right back.”  
She nodded, and the truck went off, and he turned everything in for the rest of the weekend. When he came out, he was changed into a set of regular clothes. He smiled as he approached. “Ready?”  
She nodded, and he led her to a small hole in the wall bar that wasn’t too packed for a Saturday night. He hopped out of his truck, and she went to get her door, but he was already ready there opening it and placed his hand out for her to take.  
“Thank you.”, she said. “I thought chivalry was dead.”  
“There are a few throwbacks.”, he said, “not many like me left.”  
“No there are not that many like you.”, she said with a smile.  
“Of course there aren’t that many like you either.”, he said as he opened the door for her.  
“Not sure if that was a compliment or not.”, she said with a smile.  
“You, Princess, are really one of a kind.”, he said.  
“Again not sure if that is a compliment or not.”, She said as he pulled out the chair and waited until she was seated. She wasn’t sure who taught him such manners, but it definitely made a good impression.  
“You only get compliments, sweetheart.”, he said as he sat.  
The waitress walked up, “What can I getcha?”  
“House tap for me.”, he stated.  
“Whiskey sour.”, she said, and the waitress went off to fill their order.  
“That bad of a day?”, he asked.  
“I told you it was.”,she laughed.”By the way, I don’t even know your name.”  
“Nikolas.”, he replied.  
“Hello, Nikolas. It is nice to meet you.”, she said as she held out her hand.  
“Trust me, Princess. The pleasure is all mine.”, he said as he turned her hand over and kissed her hand instead of shaking it.  
“Are you real?”, She asked as she tilted her head. He threw back his head and laughed. He smiled and looked at her.  
“Do you often wonder if your dates for the night are real, sweetheart?”, he asked.  
“Well, those other dates are, so I do have to wonder.”, she said.  
“Nonexistent?”, he asked.  
“I don’t date much.”, she said.  
“Why is that?”, he asked.  
“I am apparently heir to a billionaire.”, she said.  
“Okay if you don’t want to tell me.”, he said eyeing her features.  
“And if I told you I am a hundred percent telling the truth.”, she asked.  
“You’re not kidding are you?”, he asked as he looked her over again.  
“Sadly I am not.”, she said. “Trust me I will understand if you just call it a night.”   
“Why would I do that?”, he asked.  
“Look I understand when people find out about my uncle they either want something from me or they want nothing to do with me.”, she said.  
“I do want something from you, Princess, but it has nothing to do with your uncle or money.”, he stated.  
“What do you want Nikolas?”, she asked.  
“You to smile.”, he said as he leaned over the table to brush a stray hair out of her face.


	5. Chapter 5

“Are you real?”, she asked again.  
“Princess you don’t really get out much, do you?”,he asked.  
“Why do you call me princess?”, she asked as the drinks arrived.  
“Because you are one.”, he said.  
“I certainly am not one, though you and my uncle might be on the same wave length.”,she said.  
“Sounds like a good man.”, Nikolas said with a smile.  
“He is. Well for the most part, I guess.”,she said with a smile. “He is really the one who ever cared about me.”  
“I doubt that, sweetheart.”, Nikolas stated.  
“Out of my real family there isn’t any doubt of that.”, she said.  
“Real family?”, he asked.  
“My parents, brothers, and sisters. My uncle is my adopted uncle I should say. My dad worked for him and well he adopted me when I was eight so to speak.”, she replied.  
“That sounds rather fun.”, Nikolas said.   
“It was different.”, she said. “Those crates you delivered last night. That was a present from him.”  
“So you found the origin of those two extra crates?”, he asked.  
“No, I didn’t. I meant the whole exhibit. My uncle bid on it and got the exhibit for me to work on because it was what I wanted to do.”, she replied.  
“Wow.”, Nikolas said. “That is some uncle.”  
“You have no idea.”,she said with a smile as she took another sip of her drink. “You come here a lot?”  
“Not really anymore. It is just a place that is out of the way. It isn’t all that far from my place. When I need a drink I normally just drink at home.”, he said. Her smile grew and he had no idea why. He looked at her and just shook his head at how absolutely gorgeous she was. He had wanted to ask her out every time he saw her. He thought she would turn him down flat, women like her didn’t look at guys like him. Last night something prompted him like he was listening to something on the wind that made him outright ask her. Tonight was no different. He was shocked when she accepted. He would have helped her regardless of any payment. Taking her out was enough of a win for him.  
“That’s what I do.”, she said with a smile. “I grew up not far from here.”  
“You grew up here?”, he asked.  
“Town over.”, she replied with a laugh. He looked her over again. He thought he had her begged as a rich kid from somewhere else. She however just let on she was from this area. Everyone here was working class. He smiled. “Looking for the designer label still?”  
“Was it showing?”, Nikolas asked.  
“The surprised look you flashed there was enough.”, she said with a grin. “My dad was a wireman and a linemen. My brothers all do some sort of work. My sisters are well we won’t get into them.”  
“So you got away?”,he asked.  
“Got away but came back? That really isn’t getting away.”, she said. “ I guess I will have to start looking for another job.”  
“You should start your own museum or something.”, he said.  
“I don’t think I could.”, she said with a soft smile, “but you are right. I should start something on my own.”  
“Can you do that?”, he asked.  
“I know just the guy.”, she said as she tipped the drink and swallowed in a gulp. This was proving to be a good evening. She opted for a rain check on the second drink and instead drank soda the rest of the night. When she got in her car she was clear headed and almost completely sober. Since Nikolas had put the idea in her head she couldn’t let it go. He was following her now to her house. She pulled into the driveway and hit the garage button so he could place the crates in there. He put four of the five. Crates there but she asked him to place the fifth inside. She lowered the garage door and he followed her up to the front door and then into the walk way when she opened the door and pushed it wide.  
“Nice place. Again you are full of surprises, Princess.”,he said as he looked around.  
“How is that Nikolas?”, she asked.  
“I don’t really know what I expected but an open plan with hardly anything here wasn’t it.”, he said as she laughed.  
“Thank you again for all your help tonight.”, she said. He stepped closer and bent his head. He kissed her slightly off center on her mouth in that one spot that drove her insane. He lifted his head and peered down into her eyes.   
“The pleasure was all mine, sweetheart.”, he said softly. He walked over to the door and she followed. “Give me your phone.” She handed it over and he typed something into it and then sent a message to his phone which she heard in his truck when it went off. “I will call you in the morning.”  
She nodded and he tried his luck once again and kissed her softly and then touched her face and started walking down the pathway to the driveway. She was surprised that he left as he did. He really was a throw back and with that thought she smiled, waved, and shut the door. She turned the dead bolt and looked at the crate.

She opened the top of it and smiled at the skull. “Well what do you think?”, she asked. She waited for an answer but nothing happened. She knew that she must have read into whatever was going on in the museum as it being haunted. It couldn’t possibly be haunted. “I’m talking to a skull. I have really lost it.”

She waited and watched for anything weird to happen as maybe the change in scenery was something that could effect the skull. She looked at her phone and decided to call Lou again and ask him for a favor.  
“Twice in a week?”, he answered the phone.  
“I need some money.”, she said.  
“Well your in luck, I have quite a bit of that.”, Lou said. “How much and what for?”  
“I want to start my own research company.”, she stated.  
“You want to do what now?”, he asked.  
“Lou just hear me out.”, she said.  
“I am listening darling.”, Lou said.  
“Lou I want to open a research center to work on identification of the mass graves and such.”, she stated.  
“Don’t you have a day job?”, he asked.  
“Not for much longer.”,she said.  
“What the hell happened?”, he growled out.  
“Things.”, she said.  
“What kind of things?”, he asked.  
“I don’t want to get into that.”, she said.   
“Well I do.”, Lou said. She sat down and started at the beginning. She told him everything. Minus of course the part about the crate stopping when she asked it too. She let all the words come tumbling out and for once her uncle was silent. He was deathly silent.   
“Lou?” She asked when she was done.  
“ make a list.”, he said. His tone was unlike anything she had hear from him.  
“A list?”, she asked.  
“Of everything you could possibly need.”, he said. “ we will go search for buildings on Monday.”  
“You will do it?”, she asked with hope.  
“Of course I will. However I will deal with the museum as well.”, he stated.  
“How?”, she asked,  
“Don’t worry about that.”, he said. “Focus on what you need.”  
“Lou?”, she asked.  
“Everything you need, kiddo.”, he stated and then hung up.  
She wanted to scream it from the mountain tops but she didn’t have anyone to tell. She looked at the skull. “Well you already know. I can’t tell you.”  
The air changed around her again.   
“You really are here, then?”, she asked as she went closer to it on the table. “Well then you heard. Big things are going to happen from now on out.”  
The air swooped around her. It was almost like a hug of sorts. “ Are you happy about that?”, she asked and she felt it again. “I wish I had a name for you. Do you think you could tell me?”  
The air grew warmer around her then nothing.  
“I guess not.”, she smiled at the skull. “Well if your still listening please behave while you are here.”

She got up and walked to her bedroom. She flopped down on the bed and heard her phone go off.  
She walked back and saw a text message. It was from Nikolas.  
Sorry to bother you so late. Just wanted to say goodnight again 

She responded.  
It’s not that late. I just got some good news.

She went to her bedroom and started to change. She looked around to make sure she was alone first and then laughed to herself. 

What is the good news?

I am going to start a new company! It was all your idea too!

A new company?

Yes. You gave me the idea tonight while we were out. 

I did?

Something about starting my own museum.

Princess I was joking.

It is not a museum. It is a research company.

Well good for you. Congrats!

Thank you.

We should celebrate sometime.

I would like that.

You would?

I would Nikolas.

Then tonight is a great night!

I’ll text you in the morning.

Good night Princess, sweet dreams

Good night Nikolas

She smiled as she got into bed. There was something so familiar about the man but she still could not place the man. She wasn’t feeling to upset at the prospect of new things popping up in her life. It was the first time that the idea of not being alone seemed like a good thing. She smiled as her head snuggled into the pillow and her eyes drifted to sleep.

Two unearthly forms appeared at the end of her bed as she slept. They were both opiate and translucent. They looked at each other for what seemed the first time in years. “She is mine.”, one said.  
“Why?”, the other replied.  
“Look at her.”, the first said. “It is her.”  
“How can you be so sure?”, the second asked.  
“Look at her.”, the first replied again.  
“She talks to you like she knows you are there.”, the second said with a laugh.  
“She does know.”, the first said. “Just as she knows the man as well.”  
“You planned all of this?”, the second asked.  
“No but it is a part in a much bigger plan.”, the first said.  
“What is she had left them at the building?”, the second asked.  
“she wouldn’t do that.”, the first said with a smile as he looked down at the sleeping form of the woman.  
“She is not the same as she was last time.”, the second said.  
“No, did you expect her to be the same?”, the first asked.  
“I never expect anything when you are concerned.”, the second commented. “We should tell the others.”  
“Let us give this some time.”, the first replied. “She does have free will and can not be useful to us this lifetime.”  
“Time, time, time. Four lifetimes is enough don’t you think?”, the second pushed.  
“She is different each time. I did not control her then, what makes you think I could now?”, the first asked as he looked at himself. “I am not even a man any longer, neither are you.”  
“We can still do things.”, the second said.  
“Yes and the crate in the warehouse was a nice touch, but it hurt her in the end.”, the first said.  
“That man deserved a sword through the gut for what he said about her.”, the second said. “She isn’t even mine and I felt that. She has been kind so far and she doesn’t even know.”  
“No she doesn’t.”, the first replied.  
“Will you tell her soon?”, the second asked.  
“I do not know with this one. She is different.”, the first said.  
“You were plan on telling her soon enough right?”, the second asked again.  
“I will see.”, the first said as he noticed the woman moving around in her sleep. It seemed a nightmare was taking hold. He moved closer to the bed as he stood over her and placed what was his hand at one point on her head. Though he could not feel the surface the air around it swirled as he tried to calm her before she would bolt awake. She settled back into sleep and the smile on her face reappeared.

The two apparitions stayed there for awhile then went to explore their new haunting ground in peace. It was working all to his plan. This woman was different. She held the key.


	6. Chapter 6

She woke up the next morning and felt better than she had in months. Even knowing that everything in her life was hanging in the balance. She felt relieved for some reason in that way you do when find a misplaced item that you thought you couldn’t live without. She looked over from her bedroom archway to the table where the skull was faced the opposite way and wondered if it was because of them. The bones she had received. She still wasn’t happy with the 3d rendering of the face. Everything seemed off for the things she could clearly see. It was almost as if she was projecting another’s face on to the skull. She would run the software again with less of the markers that she knew should be there and see what popped up then.  
Her phone rang, and she hopped up and got the robe at the end of her bed as she rushed to the phone she had thrown in the chair the night before. Thinking it may be Nikolaus she smiled to herself, but it was an unknown number.   
“Doctor Jankowski?”, the voice asked.  
“This is.”, she replied.  
“We know of the trouble in the museum. Is your gift with you?”, the male voice asked.  
“Yes.”, she said. “They were not part of the exhibit were they?”  
“No. they are yours.”, the voice said.  
“Before you hang up. What did you mean they would tell me something when they felt comfortable with me? And who sent them to me?”, she asked.  
“In time Doctor you will have all the answers to your questions and questions for your answers.”, the person said and hung up.  
“What in the hell is going on?”, she asked. She felt the air shift again, and the lights flickered slightly. “Okay guys, you can stop with the parlor tricks. I know you are there. You are trying to scare me or are you trying to talk to me?” she looked down at the skull and turned it around. “You really need a name.”  
She got up to look outside, and when she came back to the table, she saw the computer screen had two letters typed hundreds of times. M.A. Well she thought at least I got an answer of sorts, she thought to herself as she looked down at the skull, and I am also going crazy. I am freaking crazy. I knew it.  
She sat there looking at the screen for what seemed to be ever. Though she knew it really wasn’t all that long. she knew she was going out of her mind as she looked at the keyboard to see if the keyboard had got stuck on those to keys. Though she knew rationally, that was not possible she still had to check. For her own piece of mind at least. There was nothing there, but she did get a text message just at the time she was about ready to clean the keyboard. She jumped near out of her skin as she went to her phone.   
“Look outside” was the text she forgot to look to see whom it was from before heading to the door. She opened it to find her brother standing there.  
“Why didn’t you say you were here?”, she asked.  
“If I did that you wouldn’t have opened the door.”,he replied, and she had to agree. His logic was not flawed though he surely was.  
“What do you want?”, she asked as she did not open the door more so he could come inside. She didn’t trust him any more than she could throw him.  
“I heard it from a friend you were slumming it up last night.”, he stated with a smile that sent chills down her spine. She almost forgot exactly whom she was talking to and what he was capable of.  
“I went out for a drink with a friend.”, she said.  
“This friend is a guy?”, he asked.  
“Why the hell do you care?”, she asked.  
“You are some big shot now, how would it look for you to go out on the wrong side of those tracks with the wrong type of guy?”, her brother said as he lowered his voice.  
“Are you trying to blackmail me?”, she asked.  
“Have you done something worth being blackmailed?”, he probed.  
“No. and goodbye.”, she said as she went to shut the door. Her brother stuck his foot in the door jam so she could not close it. Just then another voice appeared out of nowhere.  
“Everything okay Princess?” when she heard the words she felt a sigh escape her mouth.  
“Yes, Nikolas.”, she called out. “My brother was just leaving.”  
“Oh you’re her brother.”, Nikolaus said.  
“And you are?”, her brother’s voice changed to even more menacing than normal.  
“A friend.”, she said quickly. Nikolaus smiled as she said that and then she noticed he was bigger than her brother as he had moved to the door and shifted her brothers body away from the opening without doing anything other than walk up the walkway. She had to smile at that, and she opened the door more knowing her brother couldn’t do much right now.  
“Well, friend. Have fun with my sister.”, he said as he stalked away and down the drive.  
“What are you doing here?”, she asked as she looked up at Nikolaus.  
“I thought you could use some company.”, he stated. “To be honest, I have no idea why I thought that but the idea came to me, and it was like wrestling with the waves.”  
“I am glad you did.”, she said as she opened the door so they could both go in.  
“What was up with him?”, he asked.  
“He is the scummiest of my brothers always trying to get me to give him money as if I was the one completely loaded.”, she said. “This time ironically he was trying to blackmail me.”  
“With what?”, he asked.  
“You.”, she replied with a laugh.  
“Pardon?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“Someone from the bar last night told him I was there with some guy.”, she said.  
“And that is a reason to blackmail you?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“No. not at all. My family or some of my siblings think because I went away to college or because I work hard for what I have, or more importantly because of Lou I have turned my back on the way we grew up. Like I would be slumming it up, as he said if I go out or want to be friends with anyone who wasn’t elite. That is so not true. I just don’t like my family not what my family did for jobs.”, she answered. “They think I became a snob.”  
“You are the least snobby snob I know.”, Nikolaus laughed. “Are all you siblings like that?”  
“Not all but most of them, yes.”, she said. “They are the biggest snobs I know, to be honest. I could have not done anything with my life. I don’t have to work, not really. I chose to work because I makes me feel like I am doing something. It may not be important to anyone else, but it is to me. I like to think that I bring some peace to the people I identify and maybe closure to their families if they are still around.”  
“I think what you do is rather impressive,” Nikolas said. He looked at the coffee table and saw the skull. “Do you often bring your work home with you?”  
“No this ironically was my present.”, she said.  
“Someone sent you this?”, he asked. He reached out to hold it but stopped in mid-air. “Can I?”  
“Go ahead. I am sure he won’t bite.”, she said as she smiled and she saw the way he picked up the skull. He was so gentle in the lifting of it, and as he had it eye level, he turned it just for a second, and she saw it. She saw why the skull didn’t fit any of the parameters. She saw why Nikolaus seemed so familiar. She saw it all. Her eyes went wide and then she saw a flash of what appeared to be a mist rising in back of Nikolaus. Whatever was going on was too much, and she wondered if she was still asleep and this was a dream.  
She pitched herself just to make sure. It hurt a lot. She wasn’t going to try anything else. She knew this was all connected. The timing of Nikolaus asking her out, the arrival of the skulls and bones, all of it. It was overwhelming, and she started to breath deeper to try to catch her breath which seemed too hard to do. Nikolas saw that hard time she was having and placed the skull down and bent down to her. He kneeled before her as he tried to get her to slow her breathing.   
“Princess. It is okay.”, he said softly as he rubbed her back as he reached around her. She tried to focus on something, but everything seemed to be out of focus. “Sweetheart breathe, in and out. Slowly. Honey you should place you head down. Slowly in and out.” His deep voice was keeping her focused. She had never had an attack like this one before. Everything was getting clearer. She listened to his instructions as he calmly let her find her own feet in this and his hand slowly moved up and down her back. She tried to sit up again, and she just looked at him. She must have been wide-eyed. “Princess you look like you just saw a ghost.”  
“I may have.”, she whispered.  
“What?”, he asked as she had not spoken very loud as she tried to find her voice again. 

“Nothing.”, she said as she tried to smile. “I have never had that happen before. “The second time today you saved me.”  
“Are you sure you are okay?”, he asked.  
“Yeah, I’m fine.”, she said as she went to stand up. “I have a question for you?”  
“Shoot.”, he said.  
“Are you by chance descendant from someone in Japan?”, she asked. “Or some other Asian country?”  
“That is a different question that I don’t get asked a lot.”, he chuckled, “I mean the bloodline has been diluted so much that there are no Asian features left.”  
“So you are?”, she asked.  
“How did you know?”, he asked. “It was my like fifteenth great grandfather on my mother’s side.”  
“Bones don’t lie.”, she said with a smile. “When all else fails for me I revert back to bones.”  
“Fails?”, he asked.  
“I couldn’t breathe.”, she said. “I focused on bones.”  
“I see.”, he said with a slight grin. “So who is this guy?”  
“That I don’t know for sure, but I think his initials are M and A.,” she said. “I hope to figure it out with the new place.”  
“M and A. that’s weird.”, Nikolaus said.  
“Why what is so weird about that?”, she asked.  
“That grandfather. He was the Samurai who killed Nobunaga Oda. His name was Mitsuhide Akechi. They never found his bones.”, Nikolaus said.  
“That chances of it being him are slim to none, but that would be really weird.”, she said with a small smile.  
“That is true. I don’t know why anyone would want to send you his bones either.”, he said as he moved to the couch instead of crowding around her. She looked at the skull and then the box next to his crate. If that was Mitsuhide Akechi, who was in the other box? How would she even be able to prove it if she thought it was. She then looked at Nikolas, and she had no doubt. The skull she was sent was related to him; there was no question in her mind. When things calmed down, she would ask him to give her a sample of DNA. I mean they were friends if nothing else. She didn’t know what that was really like either. He might be her only friend at the moment. She smiled and watched him as he looked at the skull on the table. It looked like he was trying to figure out something too.


	7. Chapter 7

“Well?”, one of the figures said to the other as it seemed to look in the direction of the opaque figure of a man standing to the right of him. They were in the corner.  
“Well, What?”, the other asked back.  
“They know something. She knows the connection. She saw it. That was the fastest one yet. So what are you going to do about it?”, the figure asked.  
“Nothing yet.”, the figure replied as they watched the two who could not see them at the moment.  
“What do you mean nothing yet?”, the other started.  
“She knows something, and she believes. She will help us when the time is right.”, he spoke.  
“When will the time be right? I want to go home.”, the other said.  
“Home is a faraway place both in distance and time.” The spirit spoke again.   
“You said we would work together, and she would release us.”, the first said.  
“I said nothing of the sort. I believe I said it would make it easier if we stayed together so when she released us we could all go home.”, he replied. “She has lived lifetimes in between the ones we saw her in. She must remember some of them. She has to remember to set us free.”  
“Why do we need him?”, the first asked.  
“She has to fall in love again.”, he said. “With one of us.”  
“So why him?”, he asked again.  
“He is of my line.”, he replied, “Therefore a part of me.”  
“So you want her to fall in love with him. She was yours Akechi now you are passing her soul over to one of you descendants?”, he asked.  
“She can not love me.”, he said. “She can not.”  
“And you think your parlor tricks in there got her attention? Do you think that maybe we should have stayed hidden?”, he asked.  
“I am not simply handing her over to anyone. We need her to work her magic to undo what was done. It was her who placed this curse we need to have her undo it as well.”, Mitsuhide said. “It only follows reason. “She has to remember who she was before she can do anything.”  
“Why him?”, he asked.  
“Because after everything and she frees us from the curse. She deserves to be happy again.”, Mitsuhide said as he turned again to the pair sitting at the couches looking at the skull.  
“She cursed us, and you want her to be happy?”, he asked stunned.  
“The curse she placed was born out of love, she wanted us to remain with her. We didn’t know it meant for all time, and it would mean finding her lifetime after lifetime until she could lift it.”, Mitsuhide replied.  
“Born out of love? She condemned us to roam the earth forever without being allowed to move on. That was love?”, he asked.  
“My old friend, have you ever truly loved someone?”, Mitsuhide asked.  
“I am not sure.”, he replied.  
“Hideyoshi, there is your answer. If you loved someone even once you would understand.”, Mitsuhide said with a slight smile as his eyes moved over her. The shell changed with the different lifetimes, but she always was the same at heart. Her beauty was timeless as was her intelligence. She had not meant for them to roam the earth for all time when she had done what she did. She wanted to have him with her for all time. She had thought by binding their souls she would be with him in the afterlife and they would remain together for all eternity. However, she had not read the fine print in the book she had used until it was too late. It had condemned them all of playing a cat and mouse game instead. They had to end this somehow. It was tiresome. She would be reborn, and they would have to somehow find her. They had four times out of countless lifetimes. Though she was normally the same they had found that she could be cruel at times, she could be mean as well. This time she seemed to be her old self again.  
“Mitsuhide your plan better work this time.”, Hideyoshi said.  
“Or what you will kill me again?”, Mitsuhide taunted.  
“I didn’t kill you the first time.”, Hideyoshi replied.  
“I know you had some villagers do your dirty work.”, Mitsuhide replied dryly. “And after all, I was only doing what I was told to do. Following orders and it got half of us killed.”  
“Well some of us were killed. I still don’t know how she managed to curse us all and not just you. I lived my life.”, Hideyoshi replied.  
“She forgot that we were all connected even in small amounts with the same blood. That is how the younger ones also were cursed as well. Young Date and Sanada were not even allies then.”, Mitsuhide laughed. “She was not from there. She didn’t know what she did until it was too late.”  
“She didn’t mean to curse all of us?”, Hideyoshi asked.  
“She meant it only for me.”, he replied. “In lifetimes to follow we would be together.”  
“That royally backfired.”, Hideyoshi replied.  
“She has to understand love in her current form to be able to lift the curse. She will when she does understand. She was always like that. She would help if she could. She will help again, but she has to fall in love first.”, Mitsuhide stated.   
“You seem so sure of it.”, Hideyoshi said as he now looked over the pair from their spot in the corner. The two still had not said anything since she had a hard time breathing and they were staring at the skull on her table.  
“I am.”, Mitsuhide said. “I hope he is a better man than I was.”  
“Or what?”, hideyoshi asked.  
“Or I will have to show him how to be.”, Mitsuhide said with a half smile. He knew one more thing that Hideyoshi did not. This would be the last lifetime he had relive this over and over. He was tired, and he was ready, but if that meant he had to do what he had too so be it. He always had a plan. Always.  
“Show him how to be?”, hideyoshi looked over the person next to him.  
“Oh yes, old friend, Show him how to be.”, Mitsuhide said with a smirk as he knew Hideyoshi was watching him closely. He would not give anything away. He had a plan and knew this time above all others it would work. He would find peace after all regardless of the curse. He would have everything he wanted this time.

 

“So Princess, what is the next step for you?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“I honestly don’t know.”, she replied. “I guess I should go to work tomorrow though I am not sure if I still have a job.”  
“That sounds like a plan.”, Nikolaus laughed.  
“But I can’t.”, she said as she shook her head. “I am supposed to be writing down all the supplies I need and then tomorrow look at properties with Lou.”  
“So do you think your uncle will just sign off on whatever you ask for?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“Without a doubt. I am not worried in the least about that. Even if it would break him, I know Lou would get me ever last piece of equipment I asked for. It is probably because this is the first time I ever asked for anything. The day we met I was eight, and he brought me to the biggest mall in the state over in the capital. He offered to buy me everything I wanted. I wouldn’t let him the next day a truck showed up and was full of books. Every book I looked at.”  
“He seems like something else.”, Nikolaus said.  
“Lou is something else.”, she said. “There is no doubt on that one. He has spent the rest of my life trying to make up for the lack of everything else. I mean I am not supposed to know who actually paid for me to go for school and what not. I had the luxury that most people didn’t and then when I went to go find out how much I owed it was somehow erased. I understood then my life was complete different than most of the people around me. Lou made it, so I was safe.”  
“It is nice to see someone helping someone else.”, Nikolaus said.  
“The thing he was wasn’t helping, he was doing what he did best, and that was prepare for the future. Lou is scared of being alone. I know that sounds weird, but he knows he is not partner material, he knows he doesn’t want to be a father, so the next best thing was find someone he could invest his time and money into. I was like a new business for him. We have always been friends. Even when I was little. He was trying to make sure that he wasn’t lonely in the end.”, she replied as she sat back.  
“Isn’t that what families do though?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“That I don’t know. The most I see of my family is what you walked in on. They all live fifteen minutes away at the most, but I only see them when they remember I am around. Before you ask I did try to reach out to them, they are the ones who pushed me away. I thought maybe Lou had intervened, but when I confronted him, he swore he hadn’t. Lou is a lot of things, but he can’t lie. It is his biggest fault in a way, but he also has the money to back it up. My family was screwed up from the start.”, she said.  
“I think everyone thinks that, Princess.”, Nikolaus chuckled.  
“My mother had issues. She was obsessed with reliving the past and through her daughters. The mixed messages she sent were enough to mess us all up. She could be kind one minute and the next she could turn crazy. A good example was that time I met Lou. I turned down everything he offered to buy. He gave me choices, and I turned everything down. When the truck arrived the next day with all the books, my mother went ballistic when I got home from school. She had me pinned in a corner screaming at me that I let him do something to me for me to receive the books. She was adamant that I had let him cross a line with me, I was eight remember. She called me a whore in training. My oldest brother Dan stepped in and got her to stop. The next time I saw Lou I asked him never to buy me anything again. I didn’t want to get yelled at like that ever again. He saw the haunted look I had, and he swore that he would only get me things I asked for from then on. He was even more protective after that.”, she said.  
“Well, I think we all have our own battles, and your uncle helped you through some of yours.”, Nikolaus said.  
“I have a fairy godfather and a lifetime of him wanting to spoil me to make up for. He is the only person I know I can trust even though he seems like a flake.”, she said with a smile.  
“I am glad you have that, Princess.”, Nikolaus said. “Would you like to go for a walk?”  
“Sure.”, she said with a smile.  
“There is a nice trail not far from here.”, he said.  
“Then lead the way.”, she said with a smile as he placed his arm out for her to take. They could talk anywhere. It was a beautiful day outside, and for once she had nothing to do except work on the two sets she had in her house. Things were looking up, and she knew this was the calm before the storm.


	8. Chapter 8

The fresh air on the hiking trail fill the lungs of the two lone people that were in the park. Though a completely lovely day there was a slight chill in the air that left the breezy day more chilly than warm. The two didn’t see anyone else on the trails as they walked. She knew this park as she had gone here many times with friends as a teenager. They headed toward the lake. It was in the center of almost all the trails. They walked in mostly silence. She would steal glances every once in a while. Though it was silent between them the currents around them filled the air. She knew something was there that she couldn’t understand. She had never been drawn to another human as an adult before. She more than not spent her time by herself. She knew she had to be careful, though lou would easily check on whomever was around her if she asked, she never wanted to ask. She wanted to be normal, she wanted another person to connect with. It had always seemed that she was slated to remain alone, like lou, she would have to find the next in line though lou would push her to date. He would push her to try to find someone she could have the life that lou knew she wanted. She wanted all the things that Lou could never give her or buy for her. A husband, some children, a normal life to a point.

She looked up under the guise of her hooded lashes up at the man who was standing next to her. He was not classical handsome. He was built for hard labor. His long and lean body was heavily muscled, but you could only know that if you were close. His face would grow older but remain mostly the same with the laugh lines from his eyes being the only lines that would mar the beauty of it. His eyes shined with the hints of humor and mischief that she would akin to a child's. The serene look on his face was enough for her to really see him for what he was. She could see the layer underneath as well. This was a man who could hold his own in anything and allow people to see what he wanted them to see as if he had secrets that were much deeper than people would assume.

Nikolaus would glance at the small woman walking next to him after he knew she was down looking at him. He was smiling internally when she did. She was more the type to look than speak. She was a watcher. He didn’t want to spook her by doing something like he had done last night. That had been the real reason he dropped by in the morning in the first place, he wanted to make sure that she was still okay with him. He didn’t normally kiss on the first date, and he didn’t even consider that was a date in the first place. He really liked her, and she probably didn’t know it. He could feel the rush of his blood every time he was with her even those few times it was just a quick delivery. He knew from the first she was different and he couldn’t understand why but the tug he had towards her was undeniable. It was a force all its own.

They reached the lake in quick time though neither of them had a destination in mind. She sighed as she saw the trees reflected in the stillness of the water. He looked down at her and took in the beauty of her not of the lake. Her cheeks a pleasant tint of color behind them from the chill in the air. Her hair which he had thought was a mixture of blonde and browns was illuminated by the suns rays and had a faint but noticeable hint of reds there as well. Her smile was a radiant as the sun itself and could probably power a world all it’s own with its brightness. He couldn’t look at her enough. When her eyes turned to him, he couldn’t even think to process any words. His gift in life had always been the use of words either to tease or to tear apart. He had lost them all when her light eyes turned to him. He was still not really sure if this was real and she was really here with him. Even with her back under his hand, he wasn’t sure if this was a dream or not. She had been featured in many of them since he had taken the museum on his route which he made sure that he had more time to make the deliveries or pickups since spotting her in the loading bay on his first trip there. He knew the way she had smiled to him as one of the other doctor’s there had been giving him a hard time that she was different. She was one of those rare people who cared more for the person than the title. She was a treasure, and he was still shocked; she had agreed to go have a drink with him. Nothing about her life mattered to him. He didn’t care if she had money, if she was known in her field, none of that mattered. He wanted to be with her from the start. He had tried to put her from his mind, she was too perfect for someone like him. He was just a delivery driver, and she was a doctor. It wasn’t until he had his moment with her that he was the one who holding on to the labels. He wanted her to be in his arms, around him, and another other way he could get. He had a need that couldn’t be filled when it came to her.

Her eyes turned to him, and her smile was there. She looked around in awe of the quiet beauty of the place. The waters reflection was that of a painters dream. She wished she had an ounce of artistic ability so she could do it justice, but she knew that would just frustrate her more because she did not. Things in life were so out of place for her right now a serene place like this was exactly what she needed. The fact she and only she knew she wasn’t alone in her house. Whatever bones were in those crates the spirits of them were still there side by side if she shared that information she knew she would be looked at as completely crazy, even to the man who was standing next to her. Something about him was comforting. He was everything that she needed right now. She had not dated in so long she almost forgot how to act. This man above all the rest looked at her in the exact way she wanted to be looked at. His eyes full of life and possibilities that she didn’t know about. she didn’t want to be alone anymore. She knew she had to be careful but this man was different, she knew that from the start, from the first time she had seen him on the loading dock. He was not interested in her because of her uncle, he had no idea she was the next in line for millions. He looked at her as if she was a woman, not a doctor of anthropology, not a meal ticket, but as a woman who wanted and needed normal things. She slipped her hand in his, and his half grin made her heart melt. He had this way that made her felt like she was completely safe. The other thing it was like a sense of deja-vu. If she didn’t know better she had gone to a lake with this man before, there was something completely comforting in the thought though she had known she had not. It was too real to be anything other than a vivid dream, but she had the sense she had.   
“You okay?”, he asked quietly.  
“I was just thinking.”, she replied.  
“About?”, he asked as he tucked her closer to him to keep the chill at bay while the two sat in the grass.  
“I was thinking this was like one of those deja-vu moments. It almost feels like I have been here with you before.”, she said.  
“I know I feel the same way as well.”, he replied.  
“You do?”, she asked.  
“It seems like a dream repeating doesn’t it?”, he asked.  
“It does.”, she said as a gust of wind came out of nowhere and brought the coolness swirling around the two people on the waters edge.  
“Come on. We should be heading back. I don’t want you to get sick because of a dumb idea I had.”, he said as he pulled her up with little effort on his part.  
“It wasn’t a dumb idea.”, she said softly.  
“What?”, he asked.  
“It wasn’t a dumb idea Nikolaus.”, she said. “I was exactly what I needed to do.”  
“But the weather.”, he said.  
“Is always there. I needed to get out of the house. I needed to be away from everything for a while.”, she smiled as she turned to him and he was sure his heart was leaping out of his chest.  
“Princess can I kiss you?”, he asked.  
“Why ask?”, she asked back.  
“I normally ask before I do.”, he said softly.  
“You didn’t last night.”, she said.  
“I lost myself then.”, he said even softer.  
“Yes. Nik you can.”, she said. He couldn’t move fast enough as her upturned face still had the smile on it. Though it seemed to be in slow motion for him and it was like time stopped his mouth moved to hers, and he felt the two meet for what was like the first time but again like it was something he knew, without doubt, he had felt before. His hand moved to the nape of her neck and held her there gently as the kiss which he wanted to be soft and sweet like her took on a mind of its own. It was like neither of them were controlling it, but the act was controlling them. Her arms had wound up and snaked around his neck. His other hand wrapped around her back. It was pulling her tight to him. Neither of the two people wanted to stop. Their mouths intertwined and soon the swipe of her tongue on his lips made both of them shudder with a wanting of more. The heat that was coming off the two was not just because of the chill in the air. They couldn’t stop if they tried it was like an invisible rope was pulling them tighter forcing them together. His grip tightened around her when he felt her hands pulling him closer as well. The binds that neither could see around them also swirled together. The kiss was supposed to be light and just a first for them, but it took a new life of its own and left them both breathless as they finally pulled apart as they stared into the other’s eyes. They tried to catch their respective breaths, but it just seemed to be the elusive thing that neither could find. She smiled again as he grinned and their mouths found each other again, and the same things happened again. Though the vice grip the two shared seemed to be lessened and they both fell into the others soul as they both were open to the other. They stood on the lakes edge wrapped into the other for what seemed like hours as the feelings finally allowed them to separate and they walked back hand in hand lost in their own minds as they tried to place the next move together as they made their way back to the beginning of the trail. Neither had to speak as it seemed sure they were both thinking the something as they needed to figure out what the next move for the two of them was. Nothing was as it seemed for either of them. Even the seconds they parted for was too long.


	9. Chapter 9

They both looked at each other as they walked back. Everything had changed, but at the same time, it seemed everything was as it was supposed to be. She wondered what was going on. “Princess would you like to grab some dinner?”, Nikolaus broke the silence that was growing between the two.  
“Could we order in instead?”, she asked with a hint of a smile. “I do have some things to do tonight.”  
“I don’t want to bother you, then.”, he said quickly, “I know it is short notice.”  
“Nik, Stop. I would like you to stay. I wasn’t saying that because I wanted you gone. I meant it. Don’t go thinking I don’t want to be seen with you either. The fact is I don’t want to be seen. Can I tell you a secret?”  
He looked at her for a moment transfixed by the light of her smile., “Ah, of course, you can tell me a secret.” He was actively trying to clear out his throat as he spoke.  
“I don’t like people.”, she said, and he laughed. “I mean it though. I really don’t like being in places with a lot of people.”  
“You don’t like crowds?”, he asked.  
“No. This is me being completely truthful I hate going anywhere. If I could, I would stay at home wrapped in a blanket on the couch all day every day.”, she said.  
“I understand.”, Nik said with a wink. “I am pretty sure I don’t like people either. I think I would like a spot on your couch as well.”  
“That may be possible.”, she said with an airy laugh.   
“We can order anything you want tonight. Princess, I think we can stop with the explanations as well. I get it that you are not a snob.”, he said.  
“I am glad that you see that. Sometimes I feel like I have to justify certain statements though. It has nothing to do with you; it is more like sometimes I put out the wrong word, and it could blow something up. I really don’t like people, and I really don’t like crowds. On opening day for an exhibit, they pack the place full, and you have to stand there and shake peoples hand, and they just don’t stop coming. I actually would get ill the days leading up to it because I knew it was coming.”, she replied.  
“And they still made you go?”, he asked.  
“They knew it. I don’t have a problem talking in front of a group of any size, but the minute I have to be in the crowd, I will feel sick.”, she said.  
“Then we don’t ever have to go out, Princess.”, he said.  
“But I do at times. I just want people to understand. It isn’t you on any level it’s me and my issues.”, she replied.  
“We will figure it out.”, he said as they still walked hand in hand.  
“Yes, Nik. I think we will.”, she said.

The doorbell peeled out of nowhere though they were expecting the food the sudden noise had them both jump. Nik got up and opened the door and got the food he also saw a package on the stoop. “Sweetheart you have something here.”, he said as he stood by the open door.  
“What?”, she asked.  
“There is a box.”, he replied.  
“I wasn’t expecting anything,” she said as she went outside to see the box. She saw the shipping label was from the original shippers for the exhibit that had just come in. she looked up to him and shook her head. “Why did they ship this to me?”  
“What is it?”, he asked as they moved into the house.  
“It is from the last place that had the exhibit that you just delivered.”, she said as she went to open it. The cold air around her grew. It was like something was edging her away from the box. “Stop it.” She said as softly as she could.  
“What?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“Nothing.”, she said as she managed to break the tape enough so she could open the box. She broke it down and then pulled the tape more, and every time she did it felt more and more like someone was trying to get the box out of her arms. “I said stop it.”, she said as softly as she could again.  
“Is that box gonna beat you sweetheart.”, he asked from the kitchen.  
“Yes.”, she replied, “If I can get it to stop.”  
“Stop?”, Nik asked.  
“Nothing.”, she replied. She was now tearing at the never-ending tape on the box, and finally, the hole was made. A warmer gust of air swept up her and she looked around. “There are two of you?”  
“What hun?”, Nik asked.  
“Nothing. Just talking to the box.”, she replied now hoping he didn’t think she was even crazier than she already felt.  
“Bring it here. I’ll open it for you.”, he said. “Your dinner is getting cold.”  
“I will be right there!”, she tossed over her shoulder and then whispered. “If there are two of you knock twice.” She waited a heartbeat, and there was a faint knock that was followed by another. She exhaled. “Is there something in her that will hurt me?” she waited, and the warmer wind came back to her side. “I’ll take that as a no. knock once if no.” she waited, and another soft knock came. “Fine then let me open the box,” she whispered and then with no resistance she opened the front panel, and she looked inside. She reached in it, and there was a book. She pulled it out and looked at it. She had seen this book before, but she could not place it. She put the book down and walked into the kitchen and smiled up at Nik who had been waiting for her to join him. “It wasn’t my food you were worried about, it was yours.”, she said with a smile.  
“You win?”, he asked as he started to dig into his plate.  
“With the box is there any doubt?”, she retorted.  
“Yes, that is why I asked.”, he replied with a grin.  
“Yes, I did win.”, she said.  
“What was it if you don’t mind me asking?”, he asked.  
“A book.”, she replied.  
“Which one?”, he prompted.  
“I have no idea.”, she smiled. “It is an old book a few hundred years old if I had to guess. It is in an Asian language, so I don’t know what it says.”, she said.  
“What the hell?”, he asked.  
“I’m guessing it has something to do with the bones in the box.”, she said.  
“I would have to think so. I mean that is a weird gift.”, he said.  
“I am a bone person.”, she replied dryly, “It is an unusual gift but one that an anthropologist would love. One that would drive us insane until we had the answers of the who, where, why, and when of them.”  
“So you are telling me now that you would rather get bones then say flowers?”, he asked.  
“Flowers can be nice.”, she said with a smile as she took a bite of her food. “Bones are nice too.”  
“Somehow I will work with this.”, he said with a grin.   
“I have to really think on adding to the list.”, she said as she let her mind wander. She didn’t want to spend too much just yet but just the bare bones of what she needed. She knew that Lou would have no problem with the list, but she wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to just fail and fall flat on her face before she spent the bigger dollars. She had to prove herself worthy of all the time and work she had invested in herself. It was that time. She knew she would always have a safety net and she could fail, but for some reason, she wanted to show Nikolaus of all the people around her she could do it. She was highly aware of the invisible bonds between them. She also thought that the warmer wind which she had much more interaction with reminded her of Nikolaus as well. Something was going on, it was up to her to figure it all out. Something also told her this something was going to take a while as well. It almost seemed like it would be for the rest of her life.  
She shook off the thought when They both stood and threw out the paper plates and went back into the living room where he picked up the pad of paper and started writing whatever she started to list off. She looked off to the side of the room because it seemed something caught her eye. Every once in a while it moved. She saw it and then it was gone. She was still rattling off things, and Nikolaus was writing everything down. When the movement was right behind Nikolaus, and she looked up and saw for the first time the face of the warmer wind.   
It wasn’t just the face but the whole body, and it was standing right in back of Nikolaus looking down at him. She looked at the face, and she saw the bone structure of the skull that was on the table. Her eyes widened as he looked at her as well. He seemed slightly shocked that she could see him. He placed his finger on his lips, and he then disappeared again. she sat there.  
“You okay?”, Nikolaus asked. As he stopped writing to look at her because she had stopped talking.  
“Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking.”, she said as she looked up and smiled. “I really can’t think of any more.”  
“Good.”, he said as he moved off the couch and sat with her on the floor next to the table.  
“Good?”, she asked.  
“I think we need to discuss what happened earlier.”, he said. She sighed. She had heard this talk before. She had wanted to think he was different. “Sweetheart, what?” he hooked his finger under her chin and brought her face up so he could look into her eyes.  
“I have had this conversation before.”, she replied. “It never ends well. So instead why don’t we call it a night.”  
“No.,” he said with his voice deepening. “Sweetheart I think you have it mistaken.”  
“How so?”, she asked as she was trying to stand up and finding it hard as her leg had fallen asleep.  
“Discuss what happened earlier was not a put-down or the I don’t think this is going to work out code.”, he said as he pulled her back down to him, “It is more like we see if it happens again.”  
“What happens again?”, she asked.  
“Magic.”, he said as his lips found hers and they just melded together again.

 

The two men looked from the distance of her bedroom on the pair in the living room. One was disgusted at the show of affection between the two humans, and the other just chuckled.  
“He is moving much faster than I thought he would.”, Mitsuhide said as he looked over.  
“Does he have to move forward so much here?”, Hideyoshi asked.  
“You don’t have to stay here watching them if it bothers you.”, Mitsuhide said.  
“She saw you.”, Hideyoshi said matter of factly.  
“I know.”, Mitsuhide replied.  
“Was she supposed to see you?’, Hideyoshi asked.  
“No one was.”, Mitsuhide replied once again. It had surprised him when she looked directly at him. “What was with not letting her open the box?”  
“I knew it was that book.”, Hideyoshi said.  
“She needs the book to fix the curse.”, Mitsuhide said.  
“But she has no idea about either.”, Hideyoshi said.  
“She doesn’t need to just yet. Let her enjoy this.”, Mitsuhide said.  
“How are you okay with him and her?”, Hideyoshi asked.  
“All I want is for her to be happy. It is all I ever wanted. Have you never loved, my old friend?”, Mitsuhide asked knowing that the other had not, not really loved. They stood there quietly in the dark as they both drifted off into the corners of different rooms. The signs they were ever there were only in the bones that were on the table.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

She woke up to a knock on the front door. She was getting used to the fact in three days she had more interaction with people then she had for the last five years. She wasn’t surprised when it was Nikolaus. She looked at him and then went into the kitchen leaving him standing there at the front door.  
“Sweetheart did you sleep well?”, he asked as he walked over the threshold.  
“When did you leave?”, she asked. She was slightly confused as she had fallen asleep on the couch the night prior but woke up in her bed. They had been watching a movie snuggled up on the couch which in itself was unlike her. What was it about this man that made her drop her guard?  
“I put you to bed Princess, then I left.”, Nikolaus said with a smile. “it was about one when I realized you were asleep.”  
“I didn’t snore did I?”, she asked.  
“Not that I heard.”, he said with a smirk, and she knew she must have been snoring and really loud too. When she was in college, she had worked in the child development center for one of her needed credits. It was a fun time, and she got to play with a bunch of children for hours. It wasn’t all that taxing, and she normally felt better afterward leaving all the stress of student life at the door and helping form the small minds of kids was something she was interested in for a while. The one day she worked during nap time changed that. A young girl of three had decided she did not want to take a nap, but the normal teacher had pleaded with her to see if she could work her magic on the girl. She had stood over the girl and started patting the child's back when the child flipped over and kicked her dead center of her face. She hadn’t ever known what happened when she came too. However, blood was pouring from her nose, and it was swollen already. She had been packed off to the nearest hospital where the doctors had proclaimed she had broken her nose. She had been surprised, but then when she thought about it the young child had been wearing hard shoed mary jane shoes, and it had caught the bridge of her nose, she wasn’t surprised. When the childs parents found out what the girl had done, they offered to pay for everything as she got her car. She waved them off and told them it was fine, she however never worked in the center again. She had snored since sometimes to the point of waking herself up.  
“You're not a good liar.”, she replied as she made some coffee. “Why are you here?”  
“Don’t want me here?”, he asked.  
“Not what I meant, and you know it.”, she said easily over her shoulder.  
“I thought we could finish the movie, sweetheart.”, he said smoothly.  
“The movie?”, she asked with a raised eyebrow.  
“You missed more than half of it.”, he said with a smile. She realized it was his smile that made her drop her defensives. There was something about it like it was a long ago spell of sorts. It was amazing that her rational brain knew she had known this man for weeks and in passing, but something underneath all of that was a spark of something that seemed eternal. It was like she had known him for years or her whole life and lifetimes before. Something about this one man was ingrained in her psyche. She glanced from him to the bones and decided to shoot for the stars really quick.  
“Nikolaus?”, she started to ask.  
“Yes, my dear.”, he responded as he turned to face her from looking at the window and something outside.  
“Would you like to help me with an experiment?”, she asked, and he eyes flashed for a second.  
“What kind of experiment?”, he asked as he moved closer to her to look down in her eyes.  
“Not that kind.”, she said with a smile.  
“Oh.”, he said as he went to take a step back and she moved her arm around him anchoring him in the spot.  
“I think the skull is your ancestor.”, she said.  
“What?”, he asked.  
“I think the skull on the table is your ancestor, but I have no way to prove that except one and it is a long shot.”, she said.  
“What is that?”, he asked as he looked into her eyes and for a moment she forgot to speak.  
“DNA.”, she said. “I just need a cheek swab to see. As of right now, I can’t do anything, but when I get the equipment, it could be the first thing I do.”  
“Why do you think the skull is related to me?”, he asked looking over to the skull.  
“Honestly, it is a feeling. I mean the skulls facial features are a close match to yours but there is something about it that just feels right about you being a descendant of him.”, she replied knowing full well there was more, but she didn’t have to say anything about the now two spirits attached to them. They both didn’t do all that much when Nikolaus was around except yesterday when she went to open the box, and one of them really didn’t want her too.  
“Whatever you need princess.”, he replied as he bent down and kissed her forehead. “No about the movie.”  
“We can watch the movie again.”, she said laughing.  
“Good. I like the fighting scenes and the way you,”, he said with a chuckle.   
“The way I?”, she prompted.  
“Made this little sound and then moved closer.”, he said as he pulled her closer to him. “What is it about you that I can’t get enough of?”  
“I don’t know, but I feel it too.”, she said softly.  
“You do?”, he asked.  
“I do, Nik.”, she said.  
“Good.”, he replied as he kissed her in the kitchen again and deeper. “Good morning my princess.”  
His whispered words almost echoed throughout the house as the two transparent forms became more visible in the other as they watched the pair in the kitchen through the mirror. One of them was smiling while the other watched the pair with narrowed eyes. He was calculating his next move. He had wanted to see how this was going to play out, but it seemed more evident by the day that his descendant was as affected by her as he was through lifetimes passed. He wondered if it was the curse itself or it was something more. Watching the love of his life fall in love again with his grandson many times over was more difficult to watch than he had originally perceived it to be. The rest of them would be glad that the curs was so close to being lifted that he could feel the excitement radiating off of the entity standing beside them who was more than likely reporting back to the others often. He, however, was still formulating a plan. He wasn’t done with her yet. He had unfinished things to do and things to see though he was tired of walking endlessly for find her. This time had been easy, some of the other times had not been so easy nor were they fulfilling. Never had they been so close to having it lifted.  
This time he knew she would do it. This time he knew the curse would be lifted. Four hundred and forty years of searching and finding her over and over again. It had been a different kind of torture to watch her reborn and live without him. This torture this time was different. He had found her at the same time as one of his descendants, a grandson fourteen times over. A funny twist of fate for she was the reborn soul of the man’s grandmother fourteen times over as well. He now had to cope with the idea he was going to lose her forever. The fight of finding her over and over had consumed him, it was his purpose to find her and then watch over her, this time he was destined to lose her forever.   
His grandson was everything his line he hoped would turn out to be. He was caring and open. He was intelligent and could understand her. He was loving but not a fool. Mitsuhide could see himself in the man with the flesh. He was content with the man, in the end. For his plan to work it would be difficult, and everything had to be timed perfectly. There was no second chance. There would be one shot for him, and then he would be gone for all eternity. It was a risk he was willing to make, for a chance, that it may possibly work.  
“What are you planning?”, Hideyoshi asked.  
“To say goodbye to her.”, he responded.  
“That is what this is all about.”, Hideyoshi stated, and Mitsuhide acknowledged him with a bowed head. Hideyoshi faded into the nothingness while Mitsuhide stood there and whispered to himself, “You have no idea what this is all about really.”  
He faded into the nothingness as well with a smirk on his face as he watched the pair in the kitchen. This time everything would work out as it should. He and she would have there last moment together soon enough it was time to let her enjoy sometime beforehand.

“Ready, my dear?”, he asked as he turned on the tv.  
“To watch a movie sure.”, she said sarcastically back.  
“Why are you over there?”, he asked with a grin.  
“Didn’t want to crowd you.”, she replied.  
“You don’t crowd me, sweetheart. I personally like some of those little things you do and don’t realize it.”, he said with a grin.  
“Such as?”, she questioned him.  
“Come over here, and I will show you.”, he said that grin turned towards her and she lost her heart and her mind all at once. There was something about this man that drove her insane. She moved closer to him and soon she found herself being propped up on him. Her back was flush with his chest, and his long legs stretched out in back of her. His arm was tossed over her side, and she could felt every intake of breath and ever exhale as well. As attuned to him as she was the man in back of her was attuned to her as well. He knew exactly when she had relaxed enough again to fall asleep again in his arms.  
The first battle scene, however, she woke with a start and he knew the instant she was awake. He leaned over and kissed the side of her neck. Her hand on his arm that had curled over her tightened for a minute and then was slackened. He waited and hoped, but when she turned slightly and looked up at him, he couldn’t hold it together anymore. His mouth went to her and plunged into the abyss again. He wasn’t a person who moved quickly, but there seemed to be a rope pulling him along to a final destination he didn’t know was there or what it was. However, she was the prize, and he knew that right from the start. He let himself go. She would stop him if he crossed one of those invisible lines he normally drew in the sand himself. With her, he had no idea why he couldn’t stop himself to even see the sand.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The whole day was spent like that. When it was night time yet again, he knew he had to leave, but he couldn’t move. She was on the phone with her uncle making plans for the next few days, and he wanted nothing to do with idea he could not be with her all day every day. If he believed in magic, it was right now, and he was deep under her spell. Never before had he lost the ability to slow things down, it was like he was in a room he knew was filled with natural gas and the spark between them was too much. He ignited every time. That it kept happening and he didn’t stop it was unlike him. He was more old fashioned than most men today who were looking for a quick fling he had been searching his whole life for his match. He had a few long term relationships, but each one was not the one, and he knew it within the first week. He looked over at the tiny female now pacing back and forth while talking on the phone, and he knew. Instantly knew she was the one. The one he had been looking for all these years. She was smart, sassy, kind, open, and loving everything he wanted for a partner. 

“Lou I got it. You do not want me to go back.”, she said into the phone.  
“It is more than that.”, Lou responded. “If you do this you will be shunned completely from the museum.”  
“I understand that.”, she said with a smile.  
“Are you sure you understand that completely?”, he asked.  
“Lou, please. I can’t work there, and it is not like there is a hiring spree going on for anthropologist right now. I need to do this.”, she replied.  
“Kid I get that but have you really thought it through?”, Lou asked. She laughed at the answer that she held back. He was now questioning her if she was thinking things through when this man bought and sold companies because he felt like it. There was never any thinking involved in his decisions; they were often in the moment and quick.   
“Yes, I have. Look I can always find something to fall back on, but I need to try. Everyone expects something from me because of you. I am tired of living with that over my head.”, she replied instead of the biting retort about thinking things out before.  
“Me? Damnit I meant to make things easier for you. Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”, he asked.  
“I did Lou. Numerous times. It isn’t your fault per se though. I mean really it shows their greed more than anything else. They wanted your money, I knew that at ten.”, she replied.  
“Kiddo why didn’t you tell me?”, he asked again.  
“I was afraid.”, she said, and both men looked at her.  
“Of what?”, Lou prompted through the phone.  
“That you would leave.”, she said, and Nikolaus who wasn’t a part of the conversation understood more about her in that moment then he could have in ten years of being with her.   
“Why would you think that. Do not give me some bull crap answer either.”, Lou almost demanded.  
“Do you remember mom?”, she asked.  
“How the hell could I ever forget that women?”, he replied which brought a smile to her face.  
“The fact is she was one of those people too. She was only nice to me when you gave me something, or put money away for me. Lou, I was scared that if you thought I was only using you, you would leave too.”, she said.  
“Goddamnit Kiddo. I would have never left you alone with that harpy.”, Lou said with a sigh. “I knew you didn’t care about the money. You just wanted one person to love you for who you were. That fell on me to do, and I did it. You were never my kid, you were never family really. I love to say you were my friend, but really you were my heart kid. You still are. I wonder if this is what a parent feels but I doubt it. If you wanted this building to be on the moon, then it would be.”, Lou said in a defeated voice. He knew she had lived through hell because of him at home; he had no idea it had followed her. He needed her more than she needed him.  
“Lou I get that. I am okay with that but don’t you think that asking me over and over if I am sure when I say I am is a lot like the book store?”, she asked.  
“You said the same thing then too.”, he replied.  
“I was sure then, and I am now.”, she said. “Have I ever been one to move forward without a plan. That is you not me.”, she said. “Plus if it doesn’t work out I still have all the ten million you gave me in the bank.”  
“Fifty.”, Lou said.  
“What?”, she asked.  
“I added some.”, Lou said.  
“You have to be kidding me!”, she said.  
“You might not want it sweetheart, but the fact is you will be a millionaire one day. Start living like one.”, Lou said.  
“Bloody hell.”, she said.  
“I will see you on Tuesday.”, he said, “unless something comes up of course. One of us has to make some money so the other can spend it.” She heard the click before she could respond.   
“Well, that went better than I had thought.”, she said aloud.  
“Is he having doubts about this, sweetheart?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“Not really doubts but warnings bells must be going off.”, she said. “Something is off with him. I think he knows something I don’t and that is fine it is just annoying when he gets this way. He will do whatever I want, I know that without reservation. He always has. Despite the castle, he promised me he has followed through on everything he said he would.”  
“I don’t think you really need a castle.”, Nikolaus said.  
“I don’t either. I was ten when he promised that.”, she replied with a laugh that filled the air in a light, airy way. “Instead he donated a bunch of money in my name to a restoration project in Japan for some of their castles from the Sengoku period.”  
“Really?”, he asked.  
“Really.”, she replied. “One day I will go and see what my donation really did. I think some of it is still in trust. I get a newsletter every quarter on what is coming up next. I think they we working on a complete rebuild on one of the castles but I can't remember the name or where it was. It is rather funny in a way. I didn’t like the idea of all the money rebuilding a whole host of castles I just wanted one to call my own back then, now I can smile and say that people for generations can see the beauty of them. That is more important to me now.”  
“I think so too.”, he said with a chuckle.  
“Things are good now.”, she said.   
“Are they?”, he asked as she snuggled into his chest facing him.  
“I think they are now. I get want I want. I can be my own boss. Things will get done the way I want them too. My life seems complete in a way even though I know it isn’t.”, she said with a contented sigh.  
“What else do you want Princess.”, he asked. His voice seemingly lower and a tad bit more rough then he normally sounded.  
“I don’t know. Someone to share all this with. A family of my own. I can afford all that. I own this place I could, of course, sell it and get something bigger with no issues. I have no issues with any that like people my age.”, she said.  
“Well, that is true.”, he replied. “Have you found someone to build the next part of your life?”  
“Possibly.”, she said with a smile.  
“That’s good to know.”, he said with a grin. He moved her closer to his body. He moved forward and kissed her as he held her there on his lap. He knew what he should say to ease his mind and his normal behaviors, but for some reason, he couldn’t break from her. She was the last thing he thought of before sleep and the first thing he thought off when he woke up in the morning. When he did lift his head pulling back from her which was not easy. “I think I should go.”  
“Why?”, she asked.  
“We both have things to do tomorrow.”, he replied trying to stay strong to his normal self while the other side of him was roaring at the idea of her not being close. He had never experienced anything like that before.  
“I understand that.”, she said with a soft smile as she went to get off of him. The flash in her eye that she really didn’t want to let him go was all the other side of him needed. He pulled her back and kissed her again to which he found her smiling into the kiss. “I thought you said you had to go?”  
“I really don’t want to.”, he said softly.  
“You don’t have too, Nikolaus.”, she said even softer.  
“This isn’t like me.”, he said.  
“Or me.”, she said as she kissed him and he lost his mind again. He sat there with her on his lap and just continued the kiss while holding her close.

“Are you okay with this?”, Hideyoshi said as he became visible next to the man who was watching the two on the couch.  
“How could I not be?”, Mitsuhide responded in a chilling voice that was almost a hiss.  
“She is your love.”, Hideyoshi said softly.  
“She is, but she isn’t. She deserves to know how love feels. I think he can do that for her.”, Mitsuhide responded.  
“You said we need her to know love so she could release us.”, Hideyoshi replied.  
“She does.”, Mitsuhide said. “She can’t understand the curse until she does know it.”  
“That means this is a good thing.”, Hideyoshi said.   
“For her yes, For us it is the next step.”, Mitsuhide said.  
“To finally end this.”, Hideyoshi said.  
“Yes.”, Mitsuhide replied, “To end this forever.”  
“You are up to something.”, Hideyoshi’s head snapped up to look at him.  
“I do not understand whatever you mean, my old friend.”, Mitsuhide replied. “I said I would end the curse for you all. Do not concern yourself with my part in this.”  
“What are you planning?”, Hideyoshi demanded.  
“It does not concern you.”, Mitsuhide said.  
“But her?”, Hideyoshi asked.  
“It does not concern you.”, Mitsuhide repeated.  
“It better not affect the release of the curse.”, Hideyoshi said as he faded away into the vast nothingness again.  
“It only concerns me and her.”, Mitsuhide said as he looked at the couple. He knew in that moment watching his grandson holding her, the love of his life or at least the shell of the one carrying the soul of the love of his life, all would be well. He had one last gift to give her, and that would be from him, and no one could take it away, not even his grandson. A piece of him would always live on if everything worked as it should this time.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Mitsuhide Akechi or what was left of him as he stood translucent in the living room just after midnight looking at her bedroom found it much hard to deal with than he had thought it would be to stay in the same house as she found love with another. Even if that other was his great-grandson. He had watched the two until he could not take anymore and he retreated back into the bones that held his essence still. Watching them made him feel ill though he knew that wasn’t possible. Hideyoshi had retreated as well under his words that the two needed their privacy after all.   
He had his plan. The plan was simple, though he had to time it correctly. She would release the others and free him as well. She would also have a reminder of their time together. His plan was simple. He was going to inhabit the body of his grandson for one day and get her to repeat the words that would free them. He was going to love her as well. The idea was after five hundred years he was due to please her one last time. Then he would disappear into the vast nothingness he knew awaited him. She would be left with a pile of old bones and his grandson. He could live with that. At least he thought he could live with that, his plan, however, called for her to be left with something else as well. He smiled to himself.

She woke up while it was still dark with a heavy object laying over her body. For a few seconds, she had no idea what it was or what the sound was coming in back of her. She rolled slightly as she was flooded with memories of what she had just done and who with. Nikolaus was not sleeping though his breathing was slow and steady. When she did turn his bright hypnotic eyes were open and gazing over her face. She wondered if he was trying to see if she had any reservations of what just happened. It wasn’t like her to jump into bed with someone, but she had no thoughts that this was a bad thing. She didn’t understand why either, nothing about this man was normal to her. Everything he did, everything he said, it was like it was made for her only. She could get used to the type of treatment.  
“Princess?”, he asked.  
“Hmm?”, she hummed her reply.  
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”, he asked as he brushed out her hair off her face.  
“I just woke up.”, she said with a smile. Her voice was different. She wasn’t used to the idea of waking up with someone.  
“You need to sleep more, my love.”, he said as he leaned over and kissed her gently. “I have some ideas how to get you to sleep.” He chuckled, and she giggled for the first time in her life.   
“Oh really?”, she said. He smiled and took her mouth again. The simpleness of the kiss was enough to overwrite anything else she had thought of.   
“Yes really.”, he said with a broadening smile. He let his hands roam over her body, and she was again being worshipped as the princess he called her.

Nikolaus lay in back of the tiny woman he had just made love too twice as she drifted off to sleep again. He was rubbing his finger through her tangled flaxen hair as she closed her eyes and found a sated peace. He was close to drifting off himself. He couldn’t believe the past few hours. He had never found himself moving at such a quickened pace with anyone before. He had his share of girlfriends, but each step was carefully crafted to enhance the relationship. He wasn’t afraid to move a little slower to make sure it was right for the two of them and then he was hit with this tiny female. He had thought she was out of his league. She was smart, beautiful, and real. He knew he lost his heart the first night in the loading dock bays as he watched her. He had thought he blew it that night by asking. The next one was just because and here she was in his arms as he was ready to fall asleep again.   
Things changed. Things always change, but people like him stay the same. He was amazed that his own rules about dating were tossed out the window when it came to having this one special lady. That was what she was, his special lady. Now that he had her not once but twice he wanted more. He wanted this every night. He wanted this every day. He closed his eyes and found himself drifting off to sleep with a tiny angel in his arms. 

The alarms went off. He sat up not remembering where he was. She was chuckling. He reached down and pulled her to him. “You think it is funny Princess?”, he whispered in her ear.  
“Yes, Nik.”, she said with a creeping blush across her face that was so endearing to him he couldn’t resist it. He began kissing and tracing the outline of it across her body. “Nik.”  
“One more taste Princess.”, he whispered and then he started to descend with the apex of her body. She was gripping the blankets in an effort to not lose it. When she felt his tongue move across her already well-used body, she let out the sound that drove him crazy. He went harder then. When she was panting his name and the look in her haze filled eyes when he looked up, he moved and slowly moved into her. She wrapped her legs around his body as he filled her. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her as he moved in and out slowly as she tipped her head back and crying out. She was close; he knew that he was as well. When she went over the edge he was going to pull out, but her legs were tighter, and he couldn’t shake the fact this is where he wanted to be anyway. Soon she felt the warmth of him at her core, and her muscles went lax again. 

“Sweetheart I need to head to work, and you need to get up, your uncle will be here soon.”, Nik said awhile later as they were still wrapped up in each other.  
“is it bad I don’t want you to go?”, she whispered.  
“One of us still needs to make some money to live, sweetheart.”, he said chuckling.  
“I know that.”, she said with a smile.  
“I will see you after work, my love.”, he said as he kissed her temple. “Maybe you two will find a place. If you need a delivery guy, I might be available for hire.”  
“Okay, Nik.”, she said as they both got up to move and then neither of them wanted too.  
“Can I grab a quick shower?”, he asked.  
“Sure.”, she said.  
“Care to join me?”, he asked with a wink.  
“If I do it won’t be quick.”, she said with a knowing smile.  
“Good thing I have time before my shift starts then.”, he said as he moved her closer to him and into the bathroom. 

Three hours later she sat in the back of the town car looking at the second building he was bringing her too. He had gone over the finer qualities of the top three for the last half hour. Lou looked at her.  
“Something I said, Darling?”, he asked.  
“What?”, she asked.  
“You haven’t been listening to a thing I have said, have you?”, Lou said as he looked her over.  
“I have. I just have something else in my mind at the moment.”, she said with a smile.  
“Spill.”, he said like a best friend would and not her fairy godfather as she normally would call him.  
“I met someone.”, she said.  
“Oh, goodie.”, Lou said with a certain delight he was almost rubbing his hands together. “Tell me is he as good as you seem to think so?”  
“What?”, she asked as a deepening pink color spread over his face.  
“He is.”, Lou said with a chuckle. “How come you haven’t mentioned this man before?”  
“It is a new thing.”, she said.  
“How new?”, Lou asked.  
“Less than a week new.”, she replied.  
“And you let him get that far already? That isn’t like you.”, Lou said.  
“I didn’t expect you to lecture me on that.”, she said.  
“No lecture, my dear. I just find it odd.”, Lou said. “You are the one who lectures me.”  
“Lou there is something about him that just fits.”, she said.  
“I see.”, Lou said. He looked at the woman she was now, and sometimes he saw the little girl she once was. This time he saw the woman she needed to be. One that was desired for who she was not what she was. It was the one thing he wanted to give her, but at the same time, he wanted to protect her from himself. She had been everything he wanted for himself, he knew that when she skipped into his life so many years ago. She needed to be normal, have normal things, she deserved to have a normal life. “What is his name?”  
“Nikolaus.”, she said.  
“What does Nikolaus think about us, darling?”, Lou asked.  
“Nik knows the whole story.”, she said  
“He does?”, Lou asked.  
“I told him everything.”, she said.  
“My dear, do you realize that might be the first time you have told someone before they find out on their own?”, Lou asked.  
“I thought I would spare myself the normal reaction and see what he thought in the beginning. He doesn’t care.”, she said.  
“I doubt he doesn’t care.”, Lou said carefully. “He may just not have said so.”  
“Lou he doesn’t care.”, she said again as she got out of the car.  
“Alright, darling now this property have twenty-seven different style rooms.”, Lou said as he went on about the sheet in front of him. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Lou was up to something in his head, she knew it. It had to do with Nikolaus. She would find out eventually. She was sure of it. Throughout the rest of the day together he asked a question here or there and she knew he was going to do something about Nik. She wondered what and then the glaring reality hit her. He was going to test Nik somehow, and for once she knew she really hoped he passed the test.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

A black town car had been following him for three stops now. He had an idea of who was in the car, but he had no idea why. After the last stop, he pulled the truck over to a parking lot and waited for the car to pull in behind him. He got out of the truck at the same time a very well dressed man also got out of the car. Nikolaus knew this was her uncle.  
“Well, I see that you are indeed what she said you were.”, Lou said with a smile.  
“And that means?”, Nikolas asked.  
“You were a good distraction for her, but she really does need to find her place in the world on her own.”, Lou said with a half smile.  
“if that was the case shouldn’t you back away from her?”, Nikolas asked.  
“Oh, I do like you.”, Lou said with a grin. “I like you a lot. None of the others ever talked back.”  
“The others?”, Nikolas asked.  
“Other distractions that she found.”, Lou said. “They all knew their place.”  
“Their place?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“You are not dumb. You can figure it out. I am here to make a deal. One that is very much in your favor.”, Lou said.  
“Oh really?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“Five million and you walk away.”, Lou said.  
“What?”, Nikolaus asked shocked.  
“Fine Ten million and you never see her again,” Lou said again.  
“You are trying to buy me off?”, Nikolaus asked still in shock.  
“The day you met her was your lucky day,” Lou said with a grin.  
“it was but not because you are here offering me money.”, Nikolaus said with a sound of disgust.  
“Last offer, twenty-five million. I can have it transferred to you in ten minutes.”, Lou said, and Nikolaus shook his head.  
“I don’t want your money.”, Nikolaus said.  
“No, you want more than just money.”, Lou said. “Fine, you can have the power too. I will introduce you around. You will have people swarming you.”  
“I don’t want that either.”, Nikolaus ground out. He looked at the man in the suit and wanted nothing more than to punch him, but he was tamping that urge down.  
“Well, what do you want?”, Lou asked. “It can’t really be her.”  
“That is all I want.”, Nikolaus said with a smile as he thought about her.  
“It is isn’t it?”, Lou said somewhat shocked. “You really don’t want the money?”  
“I don’t want your money or hers. I can make my own.”, Nikolaus said.  
“You really are different from the others.”, Lou said.  
“She said that?”, Nik asked with a grin.  
“She didn’t have too. It was a look she had.”, Lou said. Lou offered his hand to Nikolaus who looked at it as if it was something he knew he wasn’t supposed to touch. “Oh Please, I am just a normal person too.”  
“I don’t think anything about you is normal, sir.”, Nik said with a chuckle as he shook the mans hand.  
“I take that as a compliment.”, Lou said with a smile, “You are the first one to not take the money, you know. You didn’t even think about it.”  
“You have done this before?”, Nik asked. “She would not be happy to hear that.”  
“She knows to a point. Her distractions have been few and far between they all needed to be tested. She deserves only the best.”, Lou said. “Unfortunately she had horrible taste in men. None of them were good for her, and well they took the first offer to many times.”  
“Five?”, Nikolaus asked.  
“Sometimes one.”, Lou replied.  
“She is worth so much more.”, Nikolaus said softly.  
“I agree.”, Lou said. “However you passed. So I will leave you with this piece of advice. You hurt her in any way I will find everything you care about, and I will destroy it.”  
“That is a threat, not advice,” Nikolaus said with a chuckle.  
“Take it as you will,” Lou said with a shoulder shrug.  
“You really care about her don’t you?”, Nik asked.  
“She is all I have.”, Lou replied.  
“I doubt that.”, Nik said.  
“She is all I have that I wanted.”, lou said, and that left Nik confused for a moment. “Now I have taken enough of your time. She will have some news for you when you see her later.”  
“She will?”, Nik asked.  
“She will.”, Lou said with a smile.  
“You were just going to give me twenty-five million if I said I wouldn’t see her again. How can you be so indifferent now?”, Nik asked.  
“Love.”, Lou replied.  
“Excuse me?”, Nik asked.  
“I love her.”, Lou said, “I will do anything and everything to protect her from everything I deem a risk. You didn’t even blink when I offered you the money. You want her for her I can see what is before my eyes you know. You may be everything she could need.”  
“So you are okay with us?”, Nik asked.  
“Okay is a strong word. I will never be okay with her caring for someone else. I am rather selfish that way. However, if the person is everything I am not and in the days ahead is willing to help her, how could I deny her that?”, Lou responded.  
“You do love her.”, Nik said as he looked at the other man.  
“In ways, you could not imagine,” Lou said as he walked back to his car and got in the back. Nikolaus stood there watching the car take off down the road, and he smiled at the encounter. He now knew the hurricane that was her uncle.

 

She was waiting till she knew he would get off work. She had been pacing the floors at her house with excitement. She thought he would text her when he headed home for the night, but nothing ever came. She stood there wondering if she had made some sort of mistake with him. She had thought he was different somehow but the hour was now seven, and she knew he had been off for an hour now. She was about ready to give up and give in to yet the feelings of yet another promising beginning taken away from her when her doorbell chimed throughout the house. She walked carefully to the front door and opened it slowly not sure was on the other side of the door.   
She was surprised when she did. He was standing there with a backpack on his back, flowers in his hands, and a bag of food from her favorite restaurant. “What?”, she asked as she was overwhelmed and couldn’t say any more than that.  
“Can I come in?”, he asked.  
“Oh yeah sure.”, she said shaking her head at the question and trying to clear the cobwebs in her brain from all the thought she was having over the past hour. “What is this?”  
“This would be dinner, sweetheart.”, he said with a smile. “I am starving.”  
“Nik.”, she said.  
“I know I should have called first but I wanted to, no needed to see you.”, he said as he placed the bag on the counter in the kitchen. He turned and caught her with one arm and brought her to him. His head dipped and kissed her quickly. “Now the day seems better.”  
“Nik.”, she whispered.  
“Sweetheart are you okay?”, he asked as he tipped her head up to met his eyes. His gaze seemed to see much more into her than she was willing to let him know.  
“Yes, I’m fine.”, she said trying to plaster a smile on her face.  
“No, you’re not. Tell me.”, he said as he wrapped his arms around her.  
“I thought you weren’t coming back.”, she said.  
“Why would you think that?”, he asked somewhat shocked.  
“I told Lou about you.”, she said.  
“I know you did.”, he replied with a smile.  
“How do you know that?”, she asked as her eyes flashed.  
“I met your uncle today.”, he said.  
“Where?”, she asked.  
“He followed me on my route. We talked for a bit, and he left.”, Nikolaus said.  
“How much?”, she asked.  
“Excuse me?”, he asked.  
“How much did he offer you?”, she asked.  
“You knew?”, he asked.  
“I knew he did it to one person before. I didn’t think he would go out and seek you out.”, she said, “Otherwise I would have warned you.”  
“Twenty-five million.”, he replied.  
“That much?”, she asked with her eyes widened.  
“That was the final price he put on your head, yes.”, Nikolas said.  
“You turned it down?”, she asked.  
“Of course I turned it down.”, he replied as it was a matter of fact thing to be offered millions of dollars to walk away from someone.  
“Why?”, she asked.  
“Why what?”, he asked back.  
“Why would you turn it down?”, she asked softly.  
“You don’t get it do you, Princess?”, he asked as he held her to him. “You are priceless.”  
“Priceless?”, she questioned.  
“You uncle could offer me it all, and it wouldn’t be enough. You are priceless, and you are not for sale.”, he said softly in her ear.  
“Everyone has a price.”, she said.  
“I don’t.”, he whispered and then he pulled back. “Your uncle can’t buy you away from me. I may not be able to give you everything he can, but I will damn well try too.”  
“Nikolaus I don’t want everything Lou can give me.”, she said.  
“Then what do you want my love?”, he asked.  
“You.”, she said as his mouth went to her and he held her against him. He picked her up into his arms with a quick move never breaking the kiss. He walked through her house into the bedroom, and he kicked the door shut. Somehow even though he knew they were alone in the house, he didn’t want even the bones to see what he was going to do her. All thought of the food he brought her where over as he settled into to have a different snack.

 

The door was shut Mitsuhide had to chuckle at the sentiment, but he could walk right through the door if he chose to. Everything was progressing well and he even though slightly faster than he had hoped. She had always been a sensual creature even in her other lifetimes. The passion she had was contagious. He was almost happy that his grandson was not immune to her.   
So her uncle had thought to buy his descendent off. Mitsuhide hadn’t seen that one coming. He was glad that this man was more than what he seemed. It would be soon he could make his move and free everyone. He had thought of everything this time. Everything was in place. He just wanted to wait a little bit more. Love was a fluid thing, even through space and time it could crush you five hundred years later as he felt something stir in his soul for the woman she was now as well as the love that kept him here searching for her for five centuries. He wanted to give her more time before he freed himself and the others.  
He would try her dreams first. He knew he could reach her there as himself. He didn’t want to scare her, and though he thought he could be like his grandson, he wasn’t sure if he could be. He might have taken the money his grandson didn’t he only wanted her. That type of devotion was something he didn’t think existed anymore, it was that type of devotion that bond him here to his bones waiting to find her over and over again.   
“Just a bit longer.”, he said softly before he went back into the solitude of his bones. “Just a bit longer and we all will be free.”


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

 

“Your uncle said you had some news.” Nikolaus prompted her much later in the night when he knew she had come back to the land of the living.  
“Hmm?”, she replied not willing to break the spell he had placed her in. the simple act of laying next to him was comforting in a way she had never known before. He was a wall of muscles, and he was so much bigger than her, but somehow they just fit together so well. His hand was at the base of her lower back rubbing in small circles waiting for her to speak again. “We found a building.”  
“You did?”, he asked. “So soon?”  
“It is perfect. Lou was making the transfer and would have the deed in about two weeks. He already has a person getting all the equipment I need for it as well. In a month I could have the whole building set up.”, she said.  
“So in a month, you have to go back to long hours?”, he asked.  
“No.,” she replied. “I decided to hire a team of people as well. I wanted to do this by myself and build it slowly, but nothing with Lou involved is slow or easy.”  
“I can see that.’, he chuckled. “So, I can still have you at night?”  
“I don’t see why not.”, she smiled up at him from her perch on his shoulder. He kissed her nose.  
“Good.”, Nik whispered, “We should eat what I brought over and get those flowers in water.”  
“You don’t have to bring flowers Nik.”, she said.  
“Why not?”, he asked as he tilted his head.  
“I don’t know.”, she said quietly.  
“Princess, you have never had someone who wants to spoil you besides your uncle have you?”, he asked.  
“No. that is fairly easy to figure out though. They all took the money.”, she said.  
“Freaking idiots.”, Nik said. “I am not going anywhere, sweetheart. Money or not. You are stuck with me.”  
“Promise?”, she asked as she moved to stand against him.  
“I promise.”, he said as he gazed into her eyes. The color was darker than normal. He was lost in her eyes as he smiled at her.   
“Good.”, she said with a sigh, and then they ate. A quick shower that was not quick for the both of them and he settled in her bed as she took her spot next to him. As soon as she placed her head on his chest and fell asleep, he did as well. Everything was good.

She was dead asleep when she felt an arm pulling at her. She thought she was waking up from her slumber, but she realized she was still in her dream. She turned around, and there was a man standing before her. He looked so familiar to her, but she didn’t know who he was.  
“Remember me, my love?”, he asked.  
“You seem familiar.”, she replied.  
“You do not remember?”, he asked as he tilted his head as he smiled at her.  
“You are the skull.”, she said.  
“I am much more than just a pile of bones, my love.”, Mitsuhide said as he chuckled.  
“How?”, she asked.  
“How what, my sweet girl?”, Mitsuhide asked back.  
“How are you here?”, she asked. “How am I dreaming about you?”  
“The real question you wish to ask is why are you dreaming of me instead of my grandson?”, Mitsuhide asked his yellow eyes fixated on her.  
“Your grandson?”, she asked.  
“The man beside you.”, Mitsuhide said with almost contempt.  
“Nik is your grandson?”, she asked. “I was right?”  
“You were and are, my dear.”, Mitsuhide said as he watched the emotions roll over her like waves.  
“Who sent me the bones?”, she asked.  
“I did.”, he replied.  
“How did you send me your bones?”, she asked.  
“We have an agent of sorts who works on our behalf.”, Mitsuhide calmly replied.  
“Why me?”, she asked.  
“I have searched for you for lifetimes, my love.”, Mitsuhide said. “Shall I tell you a story?”  
“A story?”, she asked.  
“On how you came to be and how I came to be trapped in along with others inside our own bones.”, he said as he took a seat. “Once there was a Princess….”  
She listened to him speak, and she tried to keep up with him though it seemed almost impossible she knew he wasn’t lying to her. It was written on his face. She reached up and touched it. As soon as she did, she was seeing things she knew where not her own memories. It was like another person was in her head. “I trapped you?”, she asked when he was done.  
“In essence yes, you did. It was not you though just another part of you.”, Mitsuhide said.  
“You want my help in releasing you and the others though?”, she asked.  
“We do.”, Mitsuhide said.  
“What do I have to do?”, she asked.  
“A few words will undo what was done.”, he replied with a sigh.  
“What are they?”, she asked.  
“Are you ready to say them, my love?”, he asked.  
“What is your name?”, she asked.  
“Mitsuhide.”, he replied quickly.  
“Mitsuhide the fact is I can’t believe this is not a dream, but I know it isn’t. I can’t believe in a past life I bonded ten men to their bones until I freed them from a curse I placed on one man.”, she said. “But if I did I know I have to fix this.”  
“I knew this time you would be different.’, Mitsuhide said with a smile.  
“So what are the words?”, she asked.  
“It isn’t the time.”, he replied.  
“What?”, she asked.  
“It is not the time, my love but soon you will free us.”, he said as he reached out and touched her face. As soon as she did, she looked at him and saw everything this man was to her. She leaned forward and kissed his mouth. “You should not have done that.”  
“I know.”, she said as she sat back up.  
“Why is that?”, he asked as he looked her over.  
“I remember everything now Mitsuhide.”, she said as she looked at herself. She thought of Nikolaus as well. How could she feel this way so quickly? She knew she loved him. It was written in her blood. It was written in his as well.  
“Soon, my love we will be gone. Just a little bit longer.”, he whispered as he faded into the darkness of the room in her dreams. She woke with a start and gasping for breath. Nik woke up as well as she was trying to breathe normally again.  
“Honey?”, he asked as he rubbed her back. “Are you okay?”  
“Fine Nik.”, she said softly. She turned her head to look at him. Though he didn’t look like the man she had just dreamt of, she knew they were the same somehow. “A weird dream.”  
“Okay.”, he said with a grin, “Come here, and I will help you forget it.”  
“Nik.”, she said softly as she laid back down next to him. He completely covered her as he rolled over her now bracing himself over her.  
“Let me love you so you can’t dream anymore.”, he said softly as he ravished her mouth with a force she didn’t know. He moved gracefully as he filled her throughout the night. When they were both too tired to move, he let himself go in her again and then moved as not to crush her. He gathered her in his arms and knew this was his destiny. He knew when he drifted off this was how he was supposed to be, with her wrapped in his arms completely sated.

She wasn’t all that surprised when he started coming over every night. She wasn’t surprised when his things started showing up in her house. She wasn’t surprised to see how this man fit so well into her life. She knew she was in love with him though she had not said the words. She also knew he loved her as well. Over the next weeks to a month they had spent every night together. He was always there to help with something for the building or something she needed. He was the one she turned too when she wanted to talk, and they did for hours on end. He was the thing that kept her sanity while the company was being formed. People were hired. Things were delivered. Contracts were signed.   
The night of the grand opening was upon them. He had cleaned up nice in his new suit that she had helped pick out. Her dress was something she loved, and he couldn’t wait to peel her out of it later, and he made sure to tell her every chance he got.   
As they mingled with him never leaving her side, she somehow knew today was different. Something in the back of her mind said something big was going to happen tonight. She was slightly on edge, and he knew that as well. Something from the night she woke up with a start had changed things between them. It wasn’t like she had pulled away from him, but things were different.  
“I love you, Princess.”, he said as he took her hand and helped her in the car.  
“I love you too Nik.”, she said with a smile.  
“You did it.”, he said grinning. “You got through the night crowd and all.”  
“I did.”, she smiled. “It was because of you.”  
“Ready to go home?”, he asked as he started the car.  
“Yes.”, she said.  
“Good. It is time to help you out of that dress.”, he said with an evil grin.  
“Just help me out of it?”, she asked sweetly back.  
“Oh and so much more, Princess.”, he said.  
When the pair got home, he moved around the car and helped her out of the car. He brought her to the door and then fiddled with the set of keys in his hand. Somehow she wasn’t surprised that he had a key to the house as well. Nothing shocked her when it came to him. He opened the door. He moved right to the bedroom and waited as she looked around. Something was different, but she didn’t know what. She looked around the room, and everything was in its place, and nothing was moved. The air in the house seemed different like a hint of something was in the air, a smell but nothing she could place.  
“Sweetheart?”, Nik called from the bedroom.  
“Yes?”, she replied coyly.   
“Come here.”, he said as he took off his suit jacket and placed it over a chair.  
“Whatever for?”, she asked as she walked slowly towards him.  
“I have some plans, my dear.”, he said as she looked at the hunger in his eyes. Somehow in that moment, she knew he was all hers. She looked at him again, and somehow she knew this was also written in the stars. Tonight was going to change everything.


End file.
